


how to get away with revolution

by thisprentiss



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Misgendering, Multi, Nonbinary Lafayette, Nonbinary Peggy, Trans Laurens, deadnaming, for the most recent chapter bc henry laurens and abigail adams are both Trash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-05-03 12:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5290085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisprentiss/pseuds/thisprentiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>basically a htgawm au - alexander gets into deep shit when he starts working for his law professor and somehow drags his friends down with him</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok so I posted this the other day actually but then I realized there was something wrong with it (like the same paragraph happened twice somehow) so I just took it down and now I'm putting it back up. just in case there was any confusion.
> 
> aNYWAY this is exactly what it says on the label - it's a how to get away with murder au. but never fear, it's not gonna follow the exact plot of the show, and the characters are gonna be different too. it was fun to write, so I'll probably continue. unless everyone hates it. eh.
> 
> don't worry, folks, I KNOW this is a sin. but you're reading it too. so who's the sinner now?

_Ribbons were being thrown through the air, which reeked of beer and sweat and smoke._

_There was yelling, screaming, laughing; all the sounds were mixing together with the sound of the band's instruments into a loud roar, drowning out any conversations that might be happening at a normal volume. Light from phones and glow sticks and lighters shone out in the crowd, illuminated by the bonfire at the center of their congregation._

_A cheerleader was flipped into the air, landing back in the arms of her friends with a laugh. A football helmet was thrown, nearly missing a shirtless man throwing another roll of streamers through the crowd. Dancing, dancing, dancing and screaming. Everyone was drinking, laughing - some lucky few were sneaking off to have sex._

_In short, it was a very exciting night._

_But away from the bonfire, down a hill, across a bridge, in the woods, there was shouting of a very different variety. Standing in the darkness, breath turning to steam in the cold air, was five figures, moonlight casting eerie shadows across their faces. Footsteps could be heard in the distance. "Merde, we messed up. We messed up so bad," one of the figures cried, raking a hand through their hair._

_"Shut up!" another one snapped. Freckled face pale in the moonlight, he stamped his foot on the ground with his hands clenched into fists, "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You keep saying that shit and someone's gonna hear, and-"_

_"Nobody's gonna hear," huffed an out of breath voice as a young man skidded to a stop next to the others. "The bonfire's loud enough. Besides, there's no one out here."_

_"Where the fuck did you go!?" the freckled man shouted, launching herself at the man who had just approached. "You said you were going back to the office and then coming straight back here. You took way too long!"_

_"Yeah, man, did you stop for takeout or something on the way back? Or should we be worried that you sold us out to the police?" asked another man, pushing back the blue headband around his head. When there was no answer for a moment, his mouth fell open. "I swear to god, man, you better not have-"_

_"You fucking traitor!"_

_"Déloyauté!"_

_"I didn't sell us out, okay!?" the man finally snapped, showing them a cane that no one had noticed he was holding. They all fell silent, staring at it with shock and disbelief. "I had to get this. And I got stuck talking to someone, but I shouldn't have to explain that to you guys, because we should all be trusting each other right now!"_

_"Well I'm sorry if I'm a little bit stressed out right now, considering the situation we're in," snarked another man from his place standing by a tree. "It's not like this is the worst thing I've ever done in my life or anything, no, of course not!"_

_A small noise came from the only woman in the group, and they turned to see her shaking her head. "Guys, Alex is right. We need to trust each other if this is gonna work out, okay?" she told them, looking up with fear in her eyes. "We're all scared. None of us are gonna go to the police, right?"_

_Letting out a humorless laugh, the tallest figure shook their head. "And tell them what? Try to say we are not guilty? Try to pin it on the rest of you? We are all equally guilty in this, no?" they said in a high pitched voice, seeming to be trying to control their breathing as they spiralled into another fit of panic. "We are all just as guilty as one another!"_

_"Lafayette, calm down, nobody's gonna go to the police," Alex reassured them, turning and searching his eyes across the small group. "Right?"_

_"Well why not?" the man by the tree asked. Alex let out a sigh of annoyance, hand tightening around the cane._

_"Madison can we please not do this?"_

_"I had nothing to do with this," he hissed, pushing off the tree and stalking toward Alex, "I could go to the police right now and get out of this whole damn situation! This is your fault, Hamilton, this is your fault! If you hadn't gotten in it with Laurens-"_

_"Yo, leave me out of this, it ain't my fault!" Laurens cut in from where he was standing, fists clenched and freckled face turning red. "And you were there too, your finger prints are all over the scene, you're just as involved in it as the rest of us are!"_

_"And I think it's great how you only speak up when you're defending your own ass," cut in the woman on the ground, not meeting Madison's eye. "Guys, we need to figure out what we're gonna do. We can't just stand here like helpless babies, we have to actually do something."_

_Laurens threw his arms up in the air, shaking his head. "Yeah? Whaddo you suggest we do, Eliza, huh? Do you want us to get rid of the murder weapon? Or better yet, are you gonna suggest we burn the body? I mean you just lo-o-ove burning things! Is that the sort of 'plan' you're looking for!?" he screamed, only to find himself being shoved backwards by Alex._

_"You shut the fuck up, don't talk to her that way! God, I don't know what's gotten into you guys! You've never acted like this before, Laurens, it's really pissing me off!" he shouted, before whirling on the group once again. "Everyone needs to calm the fuck down! Eliza's right, we need a plan." The others fell silent for a long moment, making Alex scoff. "Seriously? You assholes haven't even considered that we might have to take care of this? Do you want to go to jail!?"_

_"Take the cane back to the house, that is what I think we should do," Lafayette said from where they were standing, voice still shaking. Eliza's mouth fell open and she wrapped her arms tighter around her legs._

_"Are you insane?" she demanded, but Alex pointed a finger at Lafayette, nodding._

_"No, they're right. Commonwealth v. Deloatche, anyone remember that?" he said, only to get several strange looks from the others. "Nobody does the reading, I swear... Commonwealth v. Deloatche, prosecution lost because there was no murder weapon. If we put the cane back at the house, Jefferson'll think he just left it there and he'll get it in the morning and then it's gone, end of story."_

_"It's not a bad idea, guys. And I haven't heard anybody else give any better ones," another man finally spoke up, shrugging._

_"You're seriously siding with him!?" Madison shouted, gaping at the other man. "Mulligan, think this through, you don't know what you're talking about-"_

_"Do any of us really know what we're talking about!? Do you seriously think any of us have any clue what we're doing right now!? I don't know about you guys, but I ain't ever killed anyone before!" Mulligan shot back, somehow managing to keep his head cool as he spoke. This seemed to shut Madison up for the moment, the man closing his mouth and stepping back. "Man, I hate law students. Why can't you people do normal weekend things instead of fuckin' murdering somebody?"_

_"Don't act like this wasn't at least a little bit your fault, Hercules," Laurens hissed, annunciating Mulligan's first name with malice. "I mean as far as I can remember, I wasn't the one that-"_

_"John!" Alex yelled, stepping between the two men with his arms in the air. "This is bad enough already, I don't need you picking fights with everyone!"_

_"Oh you're one to talk about picking fights!" Laurens responded with a sneer, but Alex ignored him in favor of turning back to the group._

_"Guys, we'll do what Lafayette said. Put the cane back, nobody'll even know it ever left the house. Then we have to get rid of the body, okay?" he told them._

_Everyone started screaming at him._

_"That's fucking stupid!" Madison yelled as Eliza shouted, "Alex I love you but why the hell would we do that!?" which overlapped with Laurens, "I'm not carrying a god damn body, man!" and Lafayette, "Nuit la plus occupée de l'année, Alexandre, ne soyez pas stupide!"_

_"OKAY, EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Mulligan bellowed, making everyone fall silent once again. "Alex is right, okay!? We can't leave the body where it is!"_

_"I don't know if you noticed this, Mulligan, but Washington literally lives right in the middle of where the bonfire's happening. There's no way to get the body out of his house without somebody seeing us," Madison commented, glaring. "Unless you want to... I don't know, chop it up in the house and put it in to-go boxes or something."_

_"You know what Madison? I think everybody here would like it if you shut the fuck up," Laurens yelled with his fists clenched. "We've already killed one person tonight, I don't wanna have to up it to two."_

_"Say that a bit louder, Laurens, I do not think everyone in a twenty mile radius could hear you!" Lafayette growled through clenched teeth. "I am not surprised you were on trial in the first place..."_

_"Guys, we need to focus, stop flinging insults at each other," Eliza said, finally pushing herself to her feet. "We already know we're taking the cane back, but who thinks we should get rid of the body? Just... I don't know, raise your hands or something."_

 

* * *

 

_Three months earlier..._

Alexander Hamilton wouldn't consider himself a nervous person overall, but making his way up the stairs to where his apartment was had him more than a little on edge. The building was nothing he wasn't used to; shabby and creaking with every step he took, wallpaper peeling with water damage, but the thought of meeting his roommate, well... it was enough to make his heart race with anticipation.

There was only one bag slung over Alex's shoulder, and matched with his worn khakis and out of style sweater, he knew he may as well be wearing a banner that read 'FULL SCHOLARSHIP'. Oh well. He hoped his roommate wouldn't judge him for it. After all, they were both broke enough to want to find not only cheaper housing off campus, but also someone to split the rent.

He went over the name of his roommate several times, wondering if there were any other ways that he might pronounce it wrong.  _Calm down, Alex. Calm down._  He was at his door, city map in hand.  _Moment of truth, here we go._  He stuffed the key into the lock and twisted it, stumbling when the door swung open with less difficulty than he had been expecting.

There was a man sitting at a desk in the corner, who turned when he heard the door open, pulling out one of his white earbuds and staring in silence. "Um, hi," Alex said eloquently. "Are you... Aaron Burr?"

"Yep. You must be the roommate," he greeted, not standing up from the desk. Alex stepped into the room, feeling perhaps even more awkward than he had before, and closed the door behind him. "Alexander, right?"

"Alexander Hamilton, yes. It's a pleasure, Mister Burr," he responded, and Aaron chuckled slightly to himself.

"Just Aaron's fine. Nice to meet you, Alexander," he said politely.

Alex let out a short laugh, trying to appear as casual as possible. "I'll be honest, I didn't really think anybody was gonna need a roommate for off campus living, all the ads had already been filled when I called. Not to mention nobody wanted to room with me when they found out I was a law student, I mean did you have the same problem?" Aaron nodded at him, a bemused smile on his face. "Why don't people want to room with law students? I mean are the endless work hours and staying up all night really that hard to put up with? Okay, actually that does sound kind of hard to put up with, I don't know what I'm saying. Man, our neighbor's music is  _really_  loud, isn't it?"

"Haven't really noticed," Aaron responded shortly, turning back to his laptop and putting his earbud back in his ear. Alex nodded to himself, taking a deep breath and trying not to think about the indifference his new roommate showed toward him.  _It's nothing personal, Alex, he just doesn't know you yet. It's nothing personal, he just doesn't know you yet. It's nothing personal- he hates me, doesn't he? It's all the talking, isn't it?_

He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind as he slung his bag down on the empty twin bed pushed into the corner, pulling out his textbooks and putting them on the shelf next to the bed. It was a stroke of pure luck that he managed to get all of his textbooks at once, especially with how late he needed them and how expensive they were.

Once he had done that, he sat down awkwardly on the bed, pulling out his phone and glancing down at his email inbox; empty.  _Damn,_  he thought to himself,  _guess the school just hasn't bothered to set up my email yet._

"Alexander?" The voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Aaron standing now, pulling a sweatshirt over his head.

"Yeah?" he responded, eyes wide.

"I'm heading out, okay? I should be back soon," Aaron told him, picking up his own backpack and stuffing a law textbook into it as he headed for the door. Alexander nodded and waved a finger around in the direction of his backpack.

"Is that for the Criminal Law 100 course?" he asked curiously, and Aaron turned on his heel with a brief nod, holding the door open with his foot.

"Yeah. You in that course too?" he responded. Alex nodded, a bright smile planted on his face. Aaron only scoffed. "I don't know what the hell we did, but karma is after our asses if we ended up in that class. See you later, man."

The door closed, leaving Alex with his thoughts.  _Karma is after our asses? What does that mean? The class can't be_ that _bad, can it?_  He wondered, staring at the wall and listening to what sounded like salsa music blaring from the room next door.  _Oh well,_  he decided, standing up to unpack the rest of his bag,  _I guess I'll find out tomorrow._

 

* * *

 

It was a half an hour until the class was supposed to start when Alex found himself pacing in the lecture hall, bag slung across his chest, heart racing. Aaron had never come back to their room the night before, and though Alex's common sense told him he had just been staying over at someone else's place, he couldn't help but wonder if his roommate was going to be in class.

 _Or if_ anyone  _is gonna be in class…_ he thought to himself, unable to keep himself from noticing that there was no one else in the large room. Alex pulled out his planner, checking to make sure he was here at the right time, and sighed when he realized that he was.  _So where's the rest of the class? I mean... I know I'm here early, but I can't be the only one..._

He had already seen the seating chart at the front of the room - that was one of the first things he'd gone to when he came in - and he was pleased (yet mildly intimidated) that he had been seated in the very front row of all the seats, almost directly in front of the Professor's desk. His name had been hand written into the list of typed names, as if it couldn't get any more obvious to his classmates that he'd been admitted late.  _Great. Just my luck._

One of the doors to the hall creaked open, and Alex turned, seeing another student walk in, long legs striding across the room and down the steps to check the seating chart. Alex couldn't help but stare at this new student, captivated by curly hair and shining dark skin, curves accentuated by fitted jeans and a tight cardigan. In fact, he was so enthralled that he didn't even notice the student had come back up the stairs and to a stop in front of him.

"Bonjour."

Alex stammered for a moment -  _god, the face matches the voice -_ before he smiled and held out his hand to shake. "Bonjour," he responded, "Comment allez vous? Je m'appelle Alexander Hamilton."

"You speak French as well?" the student asked, and Alex's heart leapt, giving an enthusiastic nod. "This is excellent. Je m'appelle Lafayette, c'est un plaisir. You say your name was Alexander… Hamilton?"

"Yeah! Nice to meet you, Lafayette," he responded, and Lafayette let out a pleased sounding sigh.

"It is wonderful to hear my name on the tongue of another French speaker again. I am a seat behind you in the class. Feel lucky you are in the first row, Washington always treats the first row best." Alex tilted his head at Lafayette, a curious look in his eyes. "You are going to ask if I have been in this class before, no?"

"Oh- well, yeah. I was. How could you tell?" he asked, and Lafayette waved a hand around dismissively.

"Everyone always does. No, I know someone who works for Washington, I have never been in this class before. I am excited, though. He was very respectful in his emails when I asked about him being able to use my preferred pronouns." Alex gave another curious look, and Lafayette let out a laugh, head tilted back. "Have you never heard the term before?"

The door burst open once again at that moment, and Alex turned to see a young man in a football jersey sliding into the room, immediately making his way up to Lafayette. "Hey Frenchie, this kid givin' you any trouble?" he asked, and Alex was sure he was literally shrinking in size as the man towered over him.

"Trouble? Ha! No, Mulligan, this is Alexander, and he- it is alright if I use he, no?" Lafayette asked, glancing back toward Alex for a moment. The small man gave a swift nod. "And we were just talking about Professor Washington. Why do you always assume cute boys are giving me trouble?"

The new man, Mulligan, whose arms were wrapped around Lafayette's waist, gave Alex an odd look. "Cause you're my number one girl, that's why. I don't want anybody messin' with you," he answered, and Lafayette responded with a heavy eyeroll.

"I- um, I wouldn't mess with him- her-" Alex began to say, but Mulligan cut him off,

" _They._ "

"Right! Them, sorry. I wouldn't mess with them. Ever. Sorry," he finished, eyes darting to the floor as he shrank further backward under Mulligan's glare. "We were just talking about the class. I- I mean-"

Lafayette glared over at Mulligan, sighing. "Do not scare him, he is just a freshman. And there was no messing," they said, looking to Alex for confirmation, "Just a bit of harmless flirting, no?" Mulligan shrugged, letting go of Lafayette to stand above Alex. "Stop with the intimidation,  _Hercules._ Alexander, do not pay any attention to his scare tactics. He is a softie at heart. And he will sew you clothes if you become close enough with him."

"Clothes?" Alex asked, curiously tilting his head at Mulligan, who had turned his head to gape at Lafayette.

"You fuckin' traitor-"

"He is majoring in fashion design, oui. This is his own work I am currently modeling," Lafayette smiled, spinning to show off the cardigan they were wearing. "He is very talented, as you can tell."

Mulligan shook his head, pushing Lafayette by the shoulder. "You're a real bitch sometimes, you know that? And when does this class even  _start?_ There's like nobody here!" he asked, and Alex spoke up with his schedule in hand.

"It's supposed to start in ten minutes," he said matter-of-factly. Mulligan threw his arms up in the air, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"You fuckin' nerds, I swear. I gotta go,  _my_ class started like twenty minutes ago, but unlike  _some_ people, I ain't got time for showing up early," he said, walking backwards toward the door and giving Alex a wink, pointing. "Nice to meet you, Alexander. And you be good to Lafayette, hear me? Give them any shit and I'll be the first to know."

With that, Mulligan kicked the door open and held it open for several more students who were coming into the room. Lafayette turned back to Alex with a smile. "Sorry about that, he is always intruding on other classes. I am surprised none of the other teachers have skinned him alive yet," they sighed with a shrug. "C'est la vie, I suppose. Are you living in the dorms?"

Alex could feel his face turning red with embarrassment that he  _knew_  was unfounded, and he shook his head. "No, I'm off campus. My roommate's in this class, actually, I think. Are you in the dorms?" he responded, earning a hum and a nod from Lafayette.

"Oui, though I am trying to find cheaper housing outside of the campus as well. A friend of mine claims he has room in his apartment but I am not to keen to believe him. Always a mess, John is," they said, clicking their tongue. Swiftly looking down at a watch around their wrist, Lafayette turned to look down at the front of the room, curly ponytail bouncing up and down. "Class is meant to begin soon. We should take our seats."

"Okay, yeah. Yeah, sure," Alex agreed as Lafayette started down the aisle steps once again. The two of them slid into their respective seats, and Alex noticed the seats had begun to fill up now, more and more students coming into the room and sitting down. One woman caught his eye, sitting further up in the rows to the right of him; she had fair skin and dark hair, complimented by a blue sundress.  _My class is just full of hot people…_ Alex observed as his cheeks heated up once again.

He put his textbook out on the desk, overhearing Lafayette having a rapid-fire conversation with the person next to them. Alex managed to catch Aaron's eye from across the hall briefly; the man had been seated in the back of the lecture hall, far away from where Alex was. The seats had filled quickly as the beginning of class approached, and from what Alex could see, most of the students had arrived.

Turning back around, Alex looked over at the man in the seat next to him. At first glance, he thought it was Mulligan, the one he'd met just a few minutes earlier. But after looking closer, he saw that it was not. This man was wearing a sweater and khakis, and seemed to be intensely focused on a book of sudoko, ankles crossed under his desk. It wasn't Mulligan, but he  _did_ look familiar.  _Hang on…_  "Madison?" Alex asked, but the other man didn't look up from his book of sudoko. "James Madison?"

"Alexander," he responded shortly. Madison still didn't look up, simply holding up his hand to show Alex a ring on his finger. "I'm engaged now. Sorry."

Alex jumped back in his seat, stammering and feeling his face get hot. "Oh, no, um- I wasn't trying to- I was just trying to make conversa-" he tried to explain, but he was cut off by someone screaming from the front of the room.

"Here comes the professor!" the girl yelled, and the door swung open, a tall man with a shaved bald head in a suit striding in and putting his briefcase on the desk.

"Thank you for the introduction, Miss Hemmings. Now. Ladies, gentlemen, and others," said the professor, pulling off his jacket and slinging it down over his chair. "I'm Professor George Washington. Welcome to Criminal Law 100. Or as I like to call it…" he turned around, picking up the chalk and scrawling a phrase out on the board. Alex craned his neck to try and see what it said, watching as Washington turned around with a small smile on his face.

"How to get away with murder. Please take your seats!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a MESS but i tried therefore no one should judge me. thank you guys SO MUCH for the fabulous feedback it feeds my soul and you're all the coolest cats in the school

_"I'm Professor George Washington. Welcome to Criminal Law 100. Or as I like to call it, how to get away with murder. Please take your seats!"_

All who had not already been sitting essentially flung themselves down into their chairs, one girl scrambling all the way up the aisle until she got to her seat. Alex didn't think there was anything  _too_  scary about the professor, but from the way everyone was acting, he wondered if his opinion might change as the class went on.

"Now before we begin, I'd like to make this very clear. Unlike some of the other professors, I will not be teaching you  _theory_  about the law, but rather how to  _practice_  it, in a courtroom, like the real lawyers some of you," Washington looked pointedly out at the students, "will go on to become. Our first case," he pointed a small remote at the projector, clicking the button several times when it didn't work right away. "There we are. The first case we will be studying is the tea assassin."

Washington changed the screen, revealing a picture of a young man's mugshot. Alex sat up straighter; he had read about this crime online just a few days ago.  _If this is our case study, does that mean we're getting involved in an active case?_  He went to raise his hand to ask a question, but the Professor didn't see him.

"I want to hear the facts. Give them to me..." he looked out at the students once again, pursing his lips, before pointing to someone, "You. Blue dress, six rows up. Go ahead."

Alex, along with the entire rest of the class, turned to see who he was talking to, watching as she stood up with her notebook tucked under her arm. It was the woman Alex had seen earlier. She cleared her throat. "This was a case of attempted murder, Professor Washington, Commonwealth v. Samuel Seabury. The defendant, Mr. Seabury, was the assistant of City Councilman Doctor Benjamin Franklin-" Washington changed the slide to show a picture of a different man, "-who was also the victim."

"Thank you. Can I have your name?" Washington asked as he looked back up at her. The woman gave him a smile and a nervous nod.

"Elizabeth Schuyler, sir," she responded, and the professor nodded, seeming to recognize the name.

"You may sit down, Miss Schuyler. And may I say, it's a pleasure to have you in my class. Someone else, tell me what happened to Doctor Franklin. You," Washington said, pointing to a seat in the far left corner of the room. The class shifted to look at whoever it was, and Alex saw that it was Aaron who was standing up.

"Seabury allegedly dissolved a carbamazepine pill - that's medication for seizures - in Franklin's tea, knowing it would kill him when mixed with his other medications," Aaron answered, holding his notebook tightly in his hands. Washington nodded, not giving him another glance as he strode across the front of the room.

"And what happened when he drank the tainted tea? Anyone?" he asked, crossing his arms as he came to a stop in front of his desk. Several people raised their hands, but Washington made no move to call on anyone.

"Doctor Franklin went into cardiac arrest," said a small voice from next to Alex. He looked to his left, shocked to see that it was Madison who was speaking. Clearing his throat with several heavy coughs, the young man stood up when Washington looked toward him. "Um... fortunately he was in a meeting when it happened and an ambulance was called soon enough that he didn't die. James Madison. Sir."

"Thank you, Mister Madison. Now that we've established the actus reus, who wants to tell me the mens rea?" Washington asked, eyes immediately travelling from Madison to Alex. "You? Green jacket?"

"Um, yeah, of course," Alex stammered, standing and suddenly feeling the pressure of the entire class staring at him. "The mens rea, or the intention of the crime, was to kill Doctor Franklin. But- sir, I do have a question. About the case of study, that is."

"And what is that?" Washington asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alex bit the inside of his mouth, playing with the bottom of his shirt. "Um... we're talking about the case in past tense, but it just happened last week, therefore it's still ongoing and open. How are we going to study it if the verdict hasn't been released yet?" he asked, and Washington's face darkened, taking several steps toward Alex's desk.

"What is your name, young man?" he asked, towering over Alex by at least a foot. The small man's heart was hammering.

"Alexander Hamilton," he responded as calmly as he could manage, catching a glimpse of Madison staring up at him with wide eyes.

Turning on his heel, Washington walked back to his desk with a sharp sigh. "Well, you are correct, Mister Hamilton. Though I'm not sure how you know that it's still ongoing, seeing as I didn't mention that in the readings I sent you all," he said, looking vaguely irked about Alex's question.

"Oh- um- I just saw it on the news. I didn't... I didn't do the readings," Alex tried to explain, but it only earned another disappointed raised eyebrow from Washington.

"Well at least you came to class prepared. Though I don't know why you didn't do the assignment," he said, holding eye contact with so much intensity that Alex could feel his face flushing. "I did email it to the class two days ago. It is unacceptable to take a pass on work no matter how smart you think you are."

 _Oh no._  "I- yeah. I was only accepted yesterday. There were... there were issues. With the bursar. My um- my scholarship-" there were several snickers and murmurs from the students, "-didn't get... approved. So I wasn't actually- I wasn't technically a student until yesterday. I would never- I wouldn't skip an assignment, ever. Sorry, sir," Alex stammered, hating to have to admit his situation to the entire class on the first day.

"I see," Washington said, nodding, "It's forgiven, young man, I'll put your email down on my list after class. Are there any other questions before we move on? Yes? Miss Schuyler?"

"Um, yes. Are we going to be coming back to the case later to find out what the verdict wound up being?" Elizabeth asked, "Like... are we ever going to find out whether or not he did it?" Washington let a small smirk onto his face.

"Well, Miss Schuyler, you can just ask him yourself. Grab your things, everyone. We're going on a field trip."

 

* * *

 

"I took this case last week when Seabury fired his other lawyer," Washington explained to the students in his living room, having surprised them by bringing them to his home office. Alex somehow wound up at the back of the room next to Lafayette, though unlike his tall classmate, he couldn't see over the crowd. "You will all have the opportunity to hear his statement if he would ever show up. Take notes, this is going to be important."

"Move, please. 'Scuse me. Jesus, can you all please get out of the way?" shouted a woman's voice from down the hall where the front door was. All the students shifted awkwardly, clutching their notebooks as a woman in a pink pantsuit pushed through the crowd. She tossed her curly hair out of her eyes, hands occupied by her briefcase and the wrist of a meek looking boy they recognized as Samuel Seabury. "Sorry it took so long, sir, Jefferson's ass stopped for coffee."

"Man's gotta stay awake, Angie," shrugged another man who looked, from what Alex could see, strikingly like Lafayette.

Washington rolled his eyes, pushing off his desk and guiding Seabury to a bench in the middle of the room, waiting for him to sit down before he turned to speak to his students. "Pencils out, please. Mr. Seabury, if you don't mind telling us about your relationship with Doctor Franklin? As well as what happened on the day of the alleged crime. Spare no details. We're going to win your case," he said, and the young man shrugged, nervously staring off into the corner of the room. Alex jumped once to try and see him.

"Well, I... I don't really know. I wasn't exactly  _close_  with Doctor Franklin, but he treated me well, you know? You don't usually receive that kind of...  _kindness_  in the job at City Hall. Everyone kind of steps all over you if you're not someone in power. But Doctor Franklin, well... he never treated me like a subordinate, he always said please and thank you when I did things for him. He was a good man," he explained, seeming to be tearing up. "I just can't believe this could... this could  _happen_  to him-"

"I get the feeling he is not telling us everything, what do you think, Alexander?" Lafayette murmured, leaning down to Alex's ear. The smaller man nodded, still focused on trying to see the defendant through the crowd of other students. He glanced around briefly, noticing a chair behind him.  _Perfect._

Seabury took a deep breath, folding his hands on his lap. "I was, um, I was running to pick up coffee for one of Doctor Franklin's colleagues when it happened. I came back, and I saw the paramedics, and- well..." he trailed off, bringing a hand up to wipe tears out of his eyes, "No, he wasn't my  _friend._  But he was a good man, a  _kind_  man. I would  _never_  hurt him."

"Is it true that you bring Doctor Franklin his tea every day, Mr. Seabury?" Washington prodded, glancing toward his students to make sure they were taking notes.

"Yes, sir. Every day."

"And was it you who brought his tea on the day of the attempted murder?" he continued, raising an eyebrow. Seabury swallowed thickly and nodded once again.

"Yes, it was me, sir. But I didn't kill him," he insisted, "I swear."

"So you've said, Mr. Seabury. And so is my job to prove. Now then," Washington began, turning back to the students, putting his back to the young man on the bench. "You've heard his story, I want you all to come up with a defense. You'll present it in class tomorrow, the order is going based on the seating chart. That means Mr. Aaron Burr will be going first, and you," he said, pointing toward Alex, who had climbed up on the chair behind him to be able to see, "will be going last. Not an enviable position, young man. No two strategies are allowed to be the same."

Alex could see Aaron's relieved expression as the rest of the class began to panic, and Washington turned back to the rest of the group. "Now then. Begin your work. You can use any resources in this office, that means Samuel's discovery file, my own library. Get on the computer, start digging, I don't honestly care how you get your information as long as it can't be proved as untrue." Washington paused in the middle of the room, gesturing at the woman and man who had come in with Seabury. "Feel free to use those two as well, they know me better than my own wife."

"Okay, that was a  _shady_ introduction, it sounds like we're having an orgy or something," the man commented as all the students turned to look at the two of them. Alex could see that he was leaning heavily on a desk. 

"We're his associates," the woman explained, standing up from her seat on the couch and smoothing out the front of her pantsuit. "I'm Angelica Schuyler, this is-"

"Thomas Jefferson. And since I'm not a teacher, I absolutely do believe in stupid questions. Anything you think I'd think is dumb goes to Angie," the man cut in, and the woman, Angelica, hit him on the arm.

"Or, of course, you could come to us with answers. New information for the case. Helpful things. We'd like you a lot more that way," she continued, glaring at Jefferson, who made an inaudible comment to her. Alex stared curiously at Angelica for a long moment, wondering if her last name being 'Schuyler' had anything to do with his classmate, Elizabeth Schuyler. They didn't look like they could be  _sisters_ , but...

"Also," Washington began, turning all the heads back toward him, "I think now might be a good time to tell you this, seeing as this case is essentially your test. This year I'm a bit swamped with work, and my personal assistant quit several days ago, so... well, I've decided to pick several of you to come and work at my firm. I'll choose whoever presents the best defenses in class, so make sure you actually prepare something. Thomas, is there some sort of problem? You're distracting my students," he called, voice sounding irked.

Alex peered over the crowd, seeing the tall man lying on the floor reaching under a desk. "My bad, sir," Jefferson responded, pulling out a long object and allowing Angelica to help him to his feet, "Dropped my cane, it rolled under the desk."

"And you couldn't have  _waited_  to lay on the floor until I was done speaking?" Washington sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Right, I'll be less dramatic next time, sir," Jefferson scoffed, rolling his eyes and leaning on his cane. Washington turned back around with an annoyed sigh, clapping his hands together.

"You may all begin now. Find a defense that'll work in court and free our client. Angelica, Thomas, Mr. Seabury. With me, please. The rest of you, go. Figure this case out."

 

* * *

 

Alex usually walked wherever he went, but today he decided to follow Aaron and take the bus; it was almost ten at night by the time they left Washington's home office. He sat down next to his roommate and put his bag on his lap, leaning back in the seat. "So how about our first day of class? Washington doesn't seem that bad, maybe a little strict, but he's a good teacher," Alex said, glancing over at Aaron, who was already looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Yeah. I don't know how to feel about him," he responded shortly, looking down at his phone.

"And how about his associates, huh? Angelica looked like she could kill somebody with a glance! The other guy, I don't remember his name, Thomas Something-or-other... Jefferson! It was Jefferson, he was a little less scary. I mean he was rude as fuck, right? But not scary. What do they even  _do_? Are they both lawyers? It'll be interesting to hear their views on-" he tried to continue, but stopped talking when he realized that Aaron had put his earbuds in. "Oh. Okay. You do that."

The man, sighing, turned back to Alex as he pulled one earbud out. "Listen, Alexander-"

"Um, just Alex is fine."

Aaron barely reacted. "Okay.  _Alex_. I love how excited you are about all this, but I'm exhausted. Could you maybe... I don't know. Tone it down? Talk less?" he asked, a strained smile on his face. Alex shut his mouth and sat back in the seat, wanting to disappear into himself.  _I fucked up, I fucked up, I fucked up..._  he thought to himself, heart pounding with embarrassment. "Wait, hey," Aaron spoke up again, putting a hand on his arm and making Alex jump, "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just tired, I was gonna get a few minutes of shut eye so I can start working when we get back, alright?"

"Oh, um- yeah. I get it, it's all cool," Alex responded, smiling awkwardly at Aaron, who returned the smile and put his earbud back in. "You got it. All cool."

The day at Washington's home office had been...  _educational_ , for lack of a better word. Alex had read so much between the case files and the books and internet articles that his eyes were essentially beyond the point of focusing. And he'd talked to Elizabeth Schuyler, too. It was brief, just asking her a quick question about something in the file, so he didn't get to find out if she had any relationship with Washington's associate Angelica. He did, however, get to find out that she went by 'Eliza'.  _What a gorgeous name..._  

No one in the class, himself included, really had much time for talking during their research period at the house. The people doing the most talking, in fact, were Angelica and Jefferson, who were being bounced around from student to student answering questions and explaining concepts and - much to Alex's dismay - rolling their eyes more often than not.

The bus came to a stop, jerking Alex out of his thoughts, and he realized with a start that they were already at their stop. He gently shook Aaron by the shoulder, surprised to find the man dozed off with his head lolled onto his chest. "Aaron, we're here," he said, and his roommate nodded, eyes still closed and yawning as he stood up.

The two headed in the front doors and up the stairs, Alex walking behind Aaron, neither saying anything. It was dark in the stairwell, the only light coming in from the windows in the entryway, and Alex couldn't help but notice that the steps looked wet.  _That's weird..._  he thought to himself, curiously tilting his head,  _it's not raining outside or anything. Did something get spilled?_

He was about to express these thoughts to Aaron when he stepped wrong on one of the wet steps, grabbing at air as he careened backwards and came to a crashing stop with his hands thrust out behind him.

When the shock of the fall wore off, Alex could feel a burning pain in his left wrist, making him cringe and grab at it with his other hand. He was vaguely aware of Aaron's concerned face appearing in front of him, mouth hanging open as he leaned down. "Fuck..." Alex muttered through gritted teeth.

"Man, you fell  _hard_ ," Aaron commented, reaching a hand toward the other man's wrist and touching it gently. Alex sharply gasped and yanked it away. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

He shook his head, looking down at his wrist with a curt sigh. "I don't know, it's probably just bruised or something. And I can't really afford a hospit-"

"I can patch you up."

The two men looked up to where the voice came from, and Alex met eyes with a young man - around his age, maybe a bit older - who was leaning on the handrail of the landing and staring down at them. The first thing Alex noticed were his freckles; they were  _captivating_ , dotted across his face and down the part of his neck that Alex could see. His curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail, wet from what could only be a shower, and he was chewing a piece of gum.

"If you want me to, I mean. I'm a med student," he added, and it was just then that Alex realized he had been staring for a little too long.

"Um- y- yeah, sure, that sounds cool. You, um, you don't mind, right?" Alex asked, shaking his head to try and regain his bearings. The man smiled, popping his gum and dragging it back into his mouth with his tongue.

"I'd love to. I'll go get my kit," he said with a wink, and Aaron looked back toward Alex with shock written on his face.

"You don't think that's a bad idea?" he asked, "I mean you've never met him in your life."

Standing up with a wince, Alex shrugged. "It's not like he's gonna murder me or anything, I'll be fine. Besides, you need to get started on your defense. You  _are_  going first, after all. And gross, please tell me this is water- oh thank god, I didn't pee myself, it's water. It's all good, everybody, it's just water," he rambled, cradling his wrist to his chest. Footsteps from the landing made them both look back up, and the mysterious neighbor was holding up a first aid kit, smiling.

"Whenever you're ready, I've got all night," he called.

Alex gave him a small wave before starting up the stairs again with Aaron, this time walking a bit more carefully. "Listen, I'm gonna be fine," he reassured his roommate, earning a suspicious side glance in return.

"Okay, but if you don't come back to our place in ten minutes I swear I'm calling the cops," Aaron said under his breath, pulling out his apartment key. Their neighbor chuckled, eyebrow raised.

"I can have him back to you in five," he stated, and Aaron grumbled something under his breath, pushing into their apartment and closing the door behind him. This left Alex on the landing with their neighbor, all alone. "Hi. You mind if we do this out here? My place is kind of a mess."

"Oh! No, yeah, out here would be cool," Alex said, noticing the distinct absence of the loud music from his neighbor's apartment. "And, um, thanks. For this, I mean."

Waving his hand around dismissively, the strange man pulled Alex over to sit down on the steps leading up to the next floor, putting his first aid kit down on his lap. "It's no prob. Can I see your wrist?" Alex moved his arm so the man could inspect his arm, heart pounding as he took it carefully into his hand, narrowing his eyes. "I'm John Laurens, by the way," he added, and Alex yelped when his wrist was suddenly squeezed.

"Alex. Nice to meet you," he responded, pain fading away as John dug through his first aid kit for an ace bandage. Silence fell between them as John began to bandage Alex's wrist, the only noise being the dripping of water from the stairs.  _That has to be what I slipped on,_  Alex decided,  _but where did it come from?_

"Nothing felt broken to me, but if it still hurts in a few days I'd say go to a real doctor," John finally said, closing his first aid kit and giving Alex a clap on the shoulder. "But other than that, you're fine. If you have ice, I'd ice it, too. Now I gotta go. See you around, Alex."

Before Alex could even get another 'thank you' in, John had stood up and swiftly walked back into his apartment, slamming the door behind him. He stared at the door for a long minute, feeling a sudden newfound curiosity about their neighbor.  _Med student,_ Alex remembered,  _he's a med student._   _John Laurens. Hm._

The music from John's apartment was blaring again, pulling Alex out of his thoughts. He stood up from his seat on the stairs and brushed off his pants, pausing when he reached the door of his apartment.  _I'm never gonna get any work done with that music on, and it's not like I need to talk about anything with Aaron, right?_ He nodded to himself, unlocking the door and poking his head in, seeing Aaron sitting at his desk over a notebook, deep in thought.

"Hey, Aaron?" he asked when his roommate didn't look up from what he was doing.

"Yeah?"

He still wasn't looking up. Alex swallowed and bit his lip, trying to put on a friendly smile. "I'm going out to the library, okay? I don't think I'll be able to work with John- I mean- you know, him with the music on next door. I didn't really realize how loud it was before. If you wanna come with me, I'd be happy to walk-"

Aaron shook his head, eyes still focused on his papers. "I'm gonna stay here," he said, and Alex nodded to himself, snapping his fingers in an attempt to be casual and wincing when it caused pain to shoot up his left arm.

"Okay. Cool. You do that," he responded. He shut the door and shifted his bag's strap across his chest, heading back toward the stairs, not noticing their neighbor's door was open once again.

"Didn't you just get back?"

Alex jumped, letting out a shocked yelp, and turned to see John Laurens standing in the doorway, laughing. "Yeah, I'm just, um. I'm going out to study. At the library," he answered, shrugging awkwardly.

"Alright, that's cool, man. You do you, ya know what I'm sayin'?" John smiled, making Alex's heart all but melt. "And yo, if my music's too loud for you just tell me, okay? I know the dude that was in that place before you had a big problem with it. So just... ya know, say the word, I'll turn it down. Don't want you or your roommate havin' a nervous breakdown or anything, right?"

That struck Alex as a...  _weird_  joke to make. But he didn't say anything about it, instead giving John an awkward smile and shrug. "Ha, yeah, I guess. And, um... I don't know, I don't really have that much of a problem with it. I think Aaron's a little distracted, but if you don't want to turn it down you don't have to," he said, and John smiled back, wider this time.

"You talk a lot," he commented, and that familiar pang of anxiety struck Alex in the heart once again, "It's kinda cute."

_Oh my god._

He was definitely blushing now, because John's grin had taken over his whole face, laughing with a hand over his stomach. "You're adorable, man! Get outta here, go do your studying or whatever. I got my own studying to do in here," he said, waving Alex away as he backed into his apartment. "And have a good night, alright? Be careful."

"Thanks, John. You, um- you have a good night too," Alex said as the door closed, spinning on his heel and heading down the stairs, careful of the wet part this time.

 

* * *

 

_A cheerleader was flipped into the air, landing back in the arms of her friends with a laugh. A football helmet was thrown, nearly missing a shirtless man throwing another roll of streamers through the crowd. Dancing, dancing, dancing and screaming._

_"I swear to god, this is the worst thing I've ever done," Madison groaned as he pushed a dead arm inside a blue bag. "This is an Ikea bag, oh my god, we're putting a body in an Ikea bag, I'm never gonna sleep again."_

_"Literally shut the fuck up," Laurens snapped, slamming his hands down on the wooden floor of Washington's living room. "Why does Washington have this bag anyway? How much Ikea furniture does he buy?"_ _Lafayette let out a curt and cracked laugh, shaking their head with a hand pressed over their mouth. "And what are you even doing!? Can you stop wussing out and maybe lend a hand? I mean fuck, man, even Madison's helping more than you!"_

_Lafayette pointed an accusing finger at Laurens, visibly shaking but still incredibly intimidating. "I will not help you commit a crime and then stuff the result of it into a bag like we are taking out the trash! It is not right!" they cried, and Laurens jumped to his feet._

_"Murder isn't right either! But look where we are!" he shouted, backing off when he saw Alex coming back down the stairs. "Did you put it back?"_

_"What do you think? Yes, I put it back. Cleaned it off, too, even if it's tested-" he looked over at Lafayette, who whimpered, "-which it won't be Lafayette, don't worry. But if it is, nobody'll be able to tell it was used. Besides, Jefferson's fingerprints would be all over it by the time the cops got it. Double triple lock down. There's nothing to worry about."_

_"Ha!" Eliza laughed bitterly, pressed against the wall with her knees drawn into her chest once again. "Nothing to worry about!? Alex, you're standing over a dead body. A dead body that's our fault. There's everything to worry about!"_

_"Well if you're so worried you could actually help!" Madison snapped, clutching at his chest as he stood up, taking in a deep breath. "How are we gonna get this out of here? Even if we were going to the woods, which would be a terrible idea in the first place, they aren't exactly close. There's no-" he cut himself off, coughing several times into the fold of his arm, "-there's no way we're getting it all the way out there without someone seeing us."_

_"Eliza parked her car down the street when she drove us here," Lafayette offered, voice still shaking. "We could drive it out into the woods and get rid of it in some way from there."_

_"No!" Eliza snapped, voice filled with venom, "We are not using my car to get rid of a body!"_

_"We don't have any other choice," Alex said, dropping to his knees so he could face her, "Eliza, listen. Nobody knows you were here, there'll be no reason to search your car."_

_She glared at him with a look of betrayal on her face, as if she couldn't believe he was agreeing with the rest of them. "I don't want to do it, Alex," she hissed._

_"Eliza, please..." Alex said, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. "Please."_

_Tense silence fell for a moment, Eliza looking around at the rest of the group and then back to Alex, her expression half way between panic and resignation, before she let out a sigh. "Fine. Fine, we'll put the body in my car, we'll take it out to the woods. How are we going to get rid of it, though? Did anyone actually think about that?"_

_"I cannot say in English, but... brúle?" Lafayette suggested, their voice muffled by their hand, which was pressed over their mouth. "Alexander..."_

_Alex nodded, looking over his shoulder at the others. "Burn it."_

_"Burn it? Are you stupid!?" Laurens shouted, and Madison let out a dry laugh._

_"That wouldn't get rid of the whole thing, you idiot," he said, but Alex stood up and advanced on him, making him back up several paces. "Whoa, hey-"_

_"Don't call them an idiot, you arrogant fucker!" he snapped, giving Madison a swift shove to the shoulders that knocked him backwards. "Burning it is the only option we have, okay!? We'll take it to the woods in Eliza's car and we'll burn it. Then we can get rid of it somewhere else. And then we go home, end of story."_

_Lafayette shook their head, drawing Alex's attention. "No, no, nevermind, that will not work, Alexander. Forget I suggested it. We do not have an alibi," they said, and Eliza nodded._

_"They're right, Alex, we need an alibi if any of this is gonna mean anything," she agreed, and Alex closed his eyes, raking a hand through his hair. "You haven't thought of anything yet!?"_

_"What, you want me to think of everything!? None of this was even my fault, and you guys are acting like it's my job to fix it!" he shouted, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "We'll figure out an alibi after we get rid of the body, how about that, huh!? You assholes get a little time to think of something!"_

_No one responded._

_They all stayed silent for a minute, before Eliza shakily said, "We should go." The others nodded, Alex offering her a hand to stand up. "Are we... are we all gonna help carry this thing?" she asked, carefully stepping toward the Ikea bag that held the dead body. Lafayette made a noise that could have been either a sob or a laugh._

_"This thing! You say that like it is not a human being we have in that bag! You say that like we are carrying a piece of furniture!" they cried, and Eliza turned her head away, closing her eyes._

_"I'm sorry. Bad wording. I meant that we should all pick up the bag together so we have an easier time carrying it," she said quietly, and Alex nodded._

_"It's a good idea. Me and Lafayette can take one side, Eliza, you Laurens and Madison can take the other one, is that okay?" he asked as he took one handle of the Ikea bag into his hand. Lafayette joined him, and the other three did the same on their respective side of the bag. "One, two, three, lift."_

_They all pulled up at the same time, almost flinging the bag into the air when it lifted easier than they expected. They shifted for a moment, and when they had a good grip on it, Alex nodded his head toward the door, prompting them all to start shuffling in that direction. "This is so wrong..." Lafayette muttered under their breath, but no one bothered to respond this time._

_"Eliza, can you get the door?" Alex asked as they reached the end of the hallway where the front door was. She nodded without a word, nudging Madison with her shoulder before she let go of the handle._

_Her hand was on the doorknob when they saw the silhouette of a figure just outside the door._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty, here's the next chapter! hope you folks like it! and thanks for the feedback, like I said before, it feeds my soul!

James Madison was so deeply engaged in Seabury's discovery file that he didn't realize he was the only remaining student in Washington's living room. That is, until he was tapped on the arm.

His head shot up, twisting to see who it was, and his heart started pounding when he saw Washington's colleague Jefferson staring down at him, an eyebrow raised. "Do you know what time it is?" he asked, and James immediately jumped to his feet, shutting the file and starting to stammer words of apology for staying so late. But Jefferson only laughed. "No, no, I'm not kicking you out, George and Martha already went to sleep, they don't care how long you're here."

"I was actually just about to leave, so…" James trailed off, swinging his coat off the back of the chair and into the crook of his arm. He avoided eye contact, as always.

"You really don't have to go," Jefferson responded as he caught James' arm, stopping him in his tracks and looking him up and down as if he were sizing him up. A smirk quirked at the edge of his mouth; James' heart skipped a beat. "Like… really."

_Red flag._

"I'm, um-" he began, hastily shifting his things around to lift up his hand and display his ring, "I'm engaged. And- um- sorry, no, I'm not trying to like-  _be rude or_ um- or anything, you're gorgeous, I mean-" he may have let slip an involuntary sigh after a glance down Jefferson's body, "Seriously, you're  _gorgeous_ , but Dolley, we have this- she-"

Chuckling, Jefferson gave him a sly wink. "She doesn't have to know."

James shook his head, pulling away and sucking in a sharp breath of air - it had become distinctly harder to breathe in the last few moments. "I don't- um-" he began, but he was unable to finish protesting, because someone cleared their throat from across the room. James peered around Jefferson's shoulder, face heating up when he saw Angelica Schuyler in the archway between the hall and the living room. "Hello, Miss Schuyler."

"Thomas," she snapped, arms folded over her chest, "Stop. Screwing. The students."

"Angie, I was only  _flirting_. If any screwing was gonna happen it'd be up to him," Jefferson told her, turning around with his hands raised in the air. "And trust me, there wasn't  _anything_ happening."

"Yeah, sure," Angelica snarked, watching from the archway until James reached the door, giving him a quick, almost sympathetic smile. "Night, kid. Stay safe out there."

"Of course, Miss Schuyler. You- good night- um, you do that good night thing too," he stammered in response, wincing at his own awkwardness. He shut the door behind him and lingered on the front porch just long enough to hear Angelica begin a tirade that was presumably directed at Jefferson.

James couldn't get out of there faster.

 

* * *

 

There was nervous murmuring in the lecture hall; most of it was students talking to themselves, practicing reciting their defenses, making last minute revisions, reading them for their friends. Aaron seemed to be the only one in the room sitting quietly, and Eliza was scribbling out something on her paper. Lafayette was rambling off their defense strategies in French to Alex, who shot back several of the ones he had written out the previous night.

With a side glance, they both noticed that Madison seemed to be in a deep bout of panic, face buried in his hands. Alex gave Lafayette a look that seemed to ask, ' _should we do something?_ ' and they nodded, sitting forward with a hand outstretched.

But before either could make a move to comfort their classmate, or offer him any word of encouragement, the teacher's door slammed open and Angelica Schuyler strode in, followed closely by Professor Washington and a slightly delayed Thomas Jefferson, all holding coffee.

"Good morning students, I hope you all have a restful night," Washington called as he set his briefcase down on the desk. Alexander could swear he heard Angelica chuckle. "We will begin immediately. Going off the seating chart, we'll be starting in that corner with Mr. Burr, coming down his section, then to that corner with Miss Hemmings, and down her section. Finally the middle section, starting from the top with Mr. Hancock and coming to a close with Mr. Hamilton."

The students glanced around at each other as he paused, taking a sip of his coffee. "You will each have a maximum of two and a half minutes to present your defense, and once you have finished you will either be dismissed or you will keep your seat. Those of you who manage to keep your seat will be joining us at the trial tomorrow, therefore moving onto the next round. Do we all understand how this is happening?" he continued, earning nervous nods from the class. "Very good. Mr. Burr. You have the floor."

Alex twisted in his seat to get a good - or at least decent - view of Aaron, standing up from his seat, notebook in hand. He cleared his throat, looking down at the Professor with an anxious glance. "I propose we argue that it was not, indeed, the defendant who tainted Doctor Franklin's tea, but rather his political opponent Councilman Benedict Arnold."

Several surprised murmurs went out through the crowd, and Aaron swallowed, taking another look around the room before continuing. "Their colleagues say Doctor Franklin and Councilman Arnold were often at each other's throats at work, and recently Franklin helped to pass an act which Arnold had been fighting against for months. Councilman Arnold, in the past, has been known for violent behavior toward his colleagues when things don't go his way, going so far as to physically attack one of their secretaries."

He paused for another moment, surveying the reactions. "The secretary, in turn, was our defendant, Mr. Samuel Seabury. Not two months ago, he sustained multiple injuries from Councilman Arnold, including a black eye, a broken wrist, and bruised ribs. Arnold was only able to keep his job because Seabury's report of the attack didn't get into the system until several weeks after the event occurred, and having taken so long it lost it's credibility. Now back to this week, when Doctor Franklin helped to pass the act Councilman Arnold had been campaigning against, it provided him with motive to kill Doctor Franklin. And based off his history of violent actions, he would not have hesitated to do so."

"You're only at a minute and a half," whispered a girl seated near where Aaron was standing, looking down at her phone.

"Right, um-" Aaron continued, flipping the page of his notebook and seeming to grow flustered. "Councilman Arnold not only had the motive to attempt the murder of Doctor Franklin, but he also had the means. His wife works at a pharmacy that could supply the carbamazepine used in the attempted murder, therefore it was easily accessible to him. Since Seabury's report of the attack was deemed non-credible, it made him an easy scapegoat for this crime. No one believed him the last time he tried to speak up for himself, no one will believe him this time."

He stopped talking for a long moment, and Alex saw Washington blinking slowly at him out of the corner of his eye. "That... that's all, sir," Aaron added, and at the continued silence Alex couldn't help but feel intense secondhand anxiety for him.

But Washington finally nodded with a side glance to Angelica and Jefferson. "Very good, Mr. Burr. You may sit back down."

The sigh of relief could be heard from all the way down the lecture hall, Aaron sitting down quickly and putting his face in his hands. Washington checked the time on his watch and muttered something inaudible to his colleagues, before turning back to the room and gesturing up toward the corner where Aaron was seated. "Right. Onto..." he looked down at his attendance sheet briefly, "John Jay. You're up next."

No one stood up, and Alex noticed only now that the seat next to Aaron was empty. A small cough sounded from beside him. "Um, sir," Madison said, lifting his hand slightly. Washington looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "John's sick, I think he has strep. He's not here."

"Ah," Washington said with pursed lips, "Thomas, take that down, please, and I suppose we'll have to move on. Miss Reynolds, that means you."

 

* * *

 

Down the aisles and across the rows, more and more students presented, leaving Alex with more and more sacked defenses, pen marks scratched across the ideas jotted down in his notebook, the knot in his stomach growing with every word his classmates said. He tried not to tune them out, but generally failed, ignoring the rest of their words after he'd grasped the initial idea, leaving him to cross out yet another paragraph in his notebook - he'd drawn zigzagged lines through nearly five pages now.

He listened intently when Eliza presented, and it was everything he ever could've dreamed of hearing. She had a voice like an angel - a persuasive, confident angel - and she didn't falter once while she talked about Franklin faking the entire attempted murder. Of course, it was much less endearing when Alex realized that he would have to cross out another idea, dragging his pen across the page as he listened to her complete her argument.

She kept her seat.

Lafayette spoke quickly and to the point, spending only one minute on their defense. They argued, from what Alex could understand of the rapid-fire accented words, was that Seabury was suffering from PTSD after the incident with Councilman Arnold earlier this year, and while he may have poisoned Doctor Franklin, he did it out of self defense.

They kept their seat.

Everyone was already weary by the time they got to Madison, presenting the defense that it was Franklin's wife, angry about his recently extended work hours, who poisoned him as a way to bring him home. Of course, whether it was from sheer panic or just from talking so much, Madison wound up in a fit of coughing half way through his defense, unable to continue.

Much to everyone's surprise, he kept his seat.

Finally it was Alex's turn, stuffing his phone into his pocket after furiously scribbling at his notebook, revising what was nearly the last idea he'd had. It was weak; he wasn't even sure the information was valid, considering how he'd gotten it. But he didn't have too much time to think about it, because Washington gave him a nod, prompting him to stand up. "Go ahead, Mr. Hamilton, and good luck," he said - Jefferson chuckled something to Angelica and earned himself an elbow to the ribs.

Alex rose to his feet, taking a deep breath and trying to calm the hammering of his heart. Washington set the timer.  _Okay. Let's go._  "The defendant Mr. Seabury poisoned Doctor Benjamin Franklin, this is true," he stated plainly, earning some vaguely surprised nods from the other students, "Now allow me to elaborate: Mr. Seabury did poison Doctor Franklin, but he should not be on trial for the attempted murder, but rather for involuntary manslaughter."

Some people were looking slightly more interested now, sitting forward with eyebrows raised. "I'd like to direct the attention away from Franklin and Seabury for a moment," Alex continued, feeling his confidence growing as he spoke, "and toward Councilman Louis Frederick. How is he involved, you might ask? Through his son, George Frederick, close friend of the defendant." He allowed his eyes to flit back towards Washington, who looked like he was actually  _smiling._

"Now, as it may be known to some of you, Doctor Franklin is a heavy drinker - he's been warned several times by his department to stop coming into work hungover, but he continues to do so anyway. On the day of the crime, the defendant allegedly dissolved a carbamazepine tablet in Franklin's tea, with the intent to kill," Alex took a breath, glancing at his classmates, who looked shockingly interested. "However, it just so happens that carbamazepine tablets bear striking resemblance to Blowfish tablets, used to treat hangovers."

"The mistake Mr. Seabury made was dissolving what he believed to be a Blowfish tablet into Franklin's tea, when in reality he was dissolving the poison. It was completely unintentional - the tablets look the same, he would have had no way of telling which was which," he said, shrugging, "Which brings me to my next point. How would he have  _accidentally_  put a prescription medication in Franklin's tea? It isn't exactly something you can walk into any grocery store and buy. Well, that's where the connection to Councilman Frederick comes in."

Taking a deep breath, Alex clenched his notebook in his hands.  _Breathe, Alex. Breathe_ _-_ "See, George Frederick, Councilman Frederick's son, works at the hospital just up the road from City Hall, currently finishing med school. We're going to move back to the defendant again. After he was attacked by Councilman Arnold, our client Mr. Seabury began suffering from frequent seizures, most likely due to the injuries sustained to his head. Now, since it was never proved that he was attacked, he didn't receive any compensation for what happened. Therefore he couldn't afford treatment or medication for these seizures."

"But…" he continued, flipping the page of his notebook, "Fortunately, George Frederick's connections at the hospital and in the city allowed him to sneak the defendant medication for his condition. This medication, in turn, was carbamazepine."

There were several surprised gasps, and murmurs started through the room. "Settle down, settle down. You still have fifteen seconds left, Mr. Hamilton," Washington said, stopping the noise from the other students.

Alex straightened out his shirt and nodded to himself. "On the day of the alleged crime, our client did nothing more than mix up his medication with the hangover tablets he intended to give to Doctor Franklin. It was a simple mistake, sir. That's all."

The timer let out a shrill noise. He'd used up all his time.

"Thank you, Mr. Hamilton. Angelica, Thomas, a moment please," Washington said, leaning over to whisper something to his two colleagues. After briefly discussing something inaudible with the two of them, he turned back to the class. "Sit down, Mr. Hamilton, I believe you have done more than enough to keep your seat. Congratulations to everyone else who kept your seats, it was a pleasure to hear your defense strategies. Mr. Hamilton's defense was incredibly close to my own, I'm surprised he managed to find what he did in such a short amount of time. If you'll all give us about five minutes."

As soon as Washington turned around, Alex whirled to look at Lafayette, who was grinning from ear to ear. "You should have heard yourself, Alexander, you are destined to become a defense attorney!" they exclaimed, holding up a hand for a high five. "There is no way Washington will miss the chance to have you join him at the firm, you were brilliant!"

"I ran out of ideas, that's the only reason I used that defense. I can't believe it was the same one Washington was gonna use," Alex breathed, clapping his hand together with Lafayette's. "Yours was great, I didn't even think to come at it from a self defense angle."

"Merci, mon cher," they smiled, beaming from ear to ear, "I am glad you think that is so, I fear the Professor did not find it quite as...  _good_ as you did."

Alex scoffed, waving a hand dismissively as Lafayette laughed. "You did awesome. You're gonna get in, trust me," he reassured him, and Madison made a small noise from next to him, making the two turn. "You too, Jamie."

"Please don't call me that," Madison snapped, voice quiet. Alex was taken aback at the harsh tone, raising his hands defensively. "And you don't have to lie, Alexander. I did a shit job and we both know it."

"That is not true, you presented a strong defense. And you kept your seat, no? Which means you did better than a good large of our class," Lafayette said in an encouraging tone, but they only earned a half-glare from Madison.

"Good large isn't a phrase," he shot back, turning to his notebook and staring at it for a long moment before putting his face in his hands. "I'm- I'm sorry, that wasn't-" he tried to say, looking back to Alex and Lafayette, but Washington stood up as the words were coming out of his mouth.

"You are all dismissed, I'll see you at the courthouse at eight tomorrow, the trial begins at eight thirty on the dot, so you'd better not be late. Go home, get some rest," he announced, giving a swift nod to the students, who were all grinning as they stood up to leave. "Hamilton, I want you to stay afterward," Washington added when he saw Alex packing up his bag.

Alex's heart sped up, perhaps from both anxiety and excitement, and he nodded to Washington as he sat back down, waiting for the class to leave. "Would you like Mulligan and I to wait for you? We are going to go to a friend's apartment, you would be welcome to come with us," Lafayette asked, but Alex waved his hand around.

"Nah, it's fine. I don't want to hold you guys up," he smiled, and Lafayette ruffled his hair, shuffling out of the row and swiftly ascending the steps up the aisle. When everyone was finally gone, Washington finally raised his hand, beckoning Alex toward the desk at the front of the room.

He stood up, sliding out of his own desk and approaching Washington with caution. He could feel Angelica's eyes burning a hole in the side of his head as he stood in front of the Professor. "Yes, sir?" he asked, cursing the shaking of his voice.

"Young man, I am a defense attorney. A highly sought after defense attorney at that. Therefore I spend my time around some of the best liars there are, and I can always tell when they're lying. Therefore I want you to be completely honest with me right now," Washington began, folding his hands in front of him. Alex hoped the fear wasn't too evident on his face. "Were you informed of my defense strategy before you presented?"

Alex was taken aback, mouth falling open slightly. "Sir?" he asked, and Washington frowned.

"Did you know what my strategy was? Yours was so similar to my own, spare a few details of course, and none of your classmates even  _touched_ on the subject of Councilman Frederick's son. How did you come up with the idea for the defense?" he continued, and Alex shrugged tensely, shaking his head with wide eyes.

"I didn't- it was a last minute thing, sir, honestly it was one of the last ones on my list. And I just looked Seabury up on Facebook, that's how I found his connection with Frederick's son, they were Facebook friends and they liked a lot of each other's pictures," Alex rambled, the knot in his stomach growing tighter the more he talked - though he couldn't seem to shut himself up. "And I looked a little bit into medical records- no, okay, no, that's a lie, I didn't do that at all, sir, I don't know why I was going to say that. I- I looked him up on Facebook and then I might have talked the whole situation out of Sam- out of our client. He… he told me. Not about your strategy, he just told me about his seizures, and I thought I'd try and work it into a defense. I swear I never heard yours before. Sir."

Washington looked more than overwhelmed by the blabbering, seeming to be taking in all the information at a much slower pace than it had been said. After a long while of staring, looking between an equally shocked Angelica and Jefferson, he opened his mouth and made a confused sounding noise. "You just… got him to admit it to you? Young man, do you have any idea what an impressive feat that is?" he asked, appalled. Alex, brow furrowed, gave Washington a half-hearted smile.

"Um… thank you? Sir?"

"Really, Alexander. It's incredibly impressive," he repeated, and Angelica nodded, sharp eyes pinning Alex to the spot.

"George and I'ave been questioning him about where the carbamazepine could have come from since he hired us, and he gave us bogus answers every time," she told him with an impressed nod. "Thomas finally found it in the pharmacy's database, I'm not even sure Seabury knows we  _have_ that information."

"And you just managed to  _talk_ it out of him?" Jefferson cut in, looking suspicious.

Alex swallowed with a slow nod, praying none of them had caught a glimpse of his relentless flirting with their client in the kitchen the previous day.

"Yes. I just remained persistent until he told me," he lied, the memory of their client's cologne still fresh on his mind. "He might've been, I dunno, more willing to talk to me since I'm closer to his age? Maybe. I don't really remember exactly what I was asking him."  _His shirt was soft, I remember that much._

"Well," Washington nodded, giving Alex a clap on the shoulder, "I'll see you in the courthouse tomorrow, young man. Congratulations on a job well done."

Alex gave him a nervous smile, pushing any further memories out of his mind. "Yes, sir. I'll be there," he responded, turning and gathering his things from his desk. As he headed up the steps to the exit, he turned halfway over his shoulder, giving Washington and his associates a small wave. "Have a good day, sir."

"You too, Alexander," Washington responded, and Angelica gave him a smile, returning the wave. Jefferson just rolled his eyes.

 

* * *

 

"I  _swear,_ man, I was this close-" Mulligan held his finger and thumb together, "to punching that fucker right in his smug face, you don't even  _know!_ Standing there, goin' on an' on about how we gotta get the  _Mexicans_ outta our  _country_! Cause apparently  _immigrants_ ain't deserve to live in our  _hallowed United States of America!_ And don't even get me started on what he was sayin' about ' _those blacks_ '!"

Lafayette let out a laugh, throwing their head back and taking a long drink of wine straight out of the bottle. "You should hear our client from the case we are working on, he acts innocent but he is pre-ten-ti-ous-" they sounded out the word carefully, "pretentious? Pretentious. He is pretentious as all hell, I cannot stand to be in the same room as him! Speaks as if he were  _une marionette,_ hand up his butt telling him what to say."

"Ugh, I hate people like that," John scoffed, gulping his beer and letting out a short belch, "Did ya take a bite outta him at least? Give him a piece'a your mind?"

"Ha, as if," they snorted, "I am intent on being hired for Professor Washington's firm. I will not make a mess of my chances by speaking my mind."

John waved his hand dismissively, pulling a face. "You ain't never cared about that before, babe! What has law school  _done_  ta you?" he demanded, but Lafayette just laughed as they took another swig of wine.

"It's gettin' them some  _dick_ , that's what it's doing!" Mulligan cackled as he shoved another Oreo into his mouth. John's head whipped around, gaping excitedly at Lafayette, who was looking appalled.

"Whose! Dick! Are you! Sucking!?" John changed, clapping his hands together at the end of every word. " _Please_  tell me  _all_  of your hoe stories, I'm so ready! Ay dios  _mios_  is it the professor!? Are you  _that_  desperate for a job at the firm!?"

Lafayette's mouth fell open, and the wine bottle almost flew across the room as they gestured wildly with their hands. "Non, non, non, merde non! I have sucked  _no one's_  dick, I can promise you that, John! Believe it or not, I have standards!"

"It's this new kid, Andrew Hamilton," Mulligan interrupted, sliding further toward Lafayette and flinging an arm around their broad shoulders, "Cute as hell, don't get me wrong! I just feel like you could do better, baby girl!"

"I am not getting the sex from him!" Lafayette insisted, rolling their eyes, "Trust me, he is not someone I would... ah, hook up with, as you say. And it is Alexander, not Andrew. So you can lay off now,  _Hercules._ "

As Mulligan slid himself back toward his box of Oreos, John gave Lafayette a quizzical look. "Wait a second, Alexander Hamilton?" he half-demanded, and they nodded through the wine in their mouth.

"Oui, and I would do well to introduce you to him. He is exactly your type, John," they smirked, giving him a wink. But John's face had lit up, and he jumped onto his knees, grinning.

"He's my  _neighbor!_  And damn  _right_  he's my type! I'm gonna tap that so  _hard_  y'all'd think I'm a  _dance_ major!" he shouted, earning a chorus of 'ayy's from Mulligan and Lafayette.

"I did not know he was your neighbor, John! I insulted your apartment's cleanliness right in front of him," Lafayette laughed, tilting the near-empty wine bottle toward his friend. John put a hand over his heart, mocking being hurt.

"You  _wound_  me, Laf! I have never been  _so_  offended in my  _life_ , hold on, someone's callin'," he said, fumbling to pull his phone out of his back pocket.

" _You used to call me on my cell phone-_ " Mulligan sang, leaning closer to him until he was shoved away by a giggling John.

"Shut up, man! Hello?" he was still smiling as he answered the call.

"It's me-"

"Shh!" John whispered, laughing. The others could hear rapid fire blabber coming out of the speaker, though they couldn't understand what was being said. "¿Qué? ¡No, mira, mira, mira,  _esperas, amigo!_  Reduce la velocidad, respiras. ¿Qué estabas diciendo?"

"Spanish secrets are no fun unless they're shared with everyone," Mulligan mocked, pushing John by the shoulder and earning a harsh shove in return.

"No puedo entenderte. Hablar más despacio, calmarse," he continued, throwing a smirk over to Mulligan, who blew him a kiss.

But John's face fell quickly as the person on the other line spoke, a crease forming between his eyebrows and his eyes going wide. "¿En serio? Tienes que estar bromeando, después de la mierda que tiró- esperas, un momento-" he took the phone away from his ear, shaking his head at the other two, "I need to take this outside, sorry. And I might need ta split for a minute, a friend's at a party, his sister passed out. Wants my 'medical expertise'. I'll be back ASAP."

Mulligan and Lafayette, understanding, nodded and waved him off. "Of course, of course. Send his sis our best," said Mulligan, and Lafayette gave a salute.

"Oui, I hope she is alright," he agreed, and John smiled at them, putting the phone back up to his ear as he started out the door.

"Lo siento, volves a empezar, ¿qué paso?"

The door shut behind him, leaving the other two alone in silence for a few moments, listening to John's voice disappearing down the stairs.

 

* * *

 

Several hours later, John was ascending the stairs to his apartment, trying to step quietly even though his legs felt like lead. His shoes were cradled in his arms, pressed tightly against his chest as he listened to his own breathing and the sounds of someone listening to a loud audiobook from upstairs. He reached the landing and continued toward his door, staring at it for several minutes before finally mustering up the strength to take out his key.

He stepped into the apartment, closing the door behind him quietly and carefully. Lafayette and Mulligan had fallen asleep together on his bed, snoring softly and occasionally shifting in their sleep as the yellowish light from the window reflected off their faces.

John couldn't even bear to take off his jacket as he stared at his sleeping friends, mind still swallowed up in terror and panic and  _guilt._ He wished they were still awake. He wished he could fall into their arms and cry and cry, listen to them comfort him, bury himself in their scents and hold the two of them until everything was okay.

 _But it's better that they're asleep_ , he told himself as he turned on his shower with tears in his eyes.  _I don't know what they'd do if they saw me covered in blood anyway._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, sorry for the long time between updates! but thank you all SO MUCH for the reviews i love you guys it gives me LIFE  
> and i'll try to have the next chapter out sooner, thanks for reading!

The rustling and creaking of floorboards woke Mulligan up.

He cracked his eyes open, grumbling something that was hard to make out through his grogginess. He snuggled back into John's blanket and pushed his face into one of the pillows, deciding that it didn't matter what time it was, he was tired and he was going back to sleep. After what could have been ten seconds or twenty minutes - he couldn't tell - he felt a peck on his cheek.

"I am going to the courthouse, cher, tell John I left crepes in the refrigerator," said a voice from just above Mulligan's face. He opened his eyes once again, looking sleepily up toward Lafayette, who was already dressed with their bag slung over their shoulder.

"Your eyeliner looks nice..." Mulligan murmured, yawning and closing his eyes. He heard a soft chuckle from his friend. "Have fun with the crepes... I mean the-" he yawned again, shaking his head, "I mean the court. Thanks for the crepes."

"I will have as much fun as I can, and you are welcome," Lafayette said softly, "Do not forget you have a class this morning." Mulligan heard their footsteps across the room, then the door opening and closing, then silence.

_Class, right..._  he sighed in his head, turning over and curling into a snoring John's side.  _Who gives a fuck about class…_

 

* * *

 

Alex's leg was bouncing in time with the pounding of his heart, waiting for the trial to begin. He was sitting in the seat directly behind their table, staring a hole in the back of Samuel Seabury's head and trying to block out the incessant phone tapping from the man sitting next to him. He felt incredibly underdressed - or at the very least upstaged - by everyone in the courtroom, especially the man to his left.

Khakis just really didn't compare to a white suit.

Clearing his throat, Alex looked behind him and saw Lafayette in the process of sitting down three rows back, smiling and giving a small wave when they caught Alex's eye. The chatter made it impossible for them to say anything to each other, so Alex turned back around and glanced down at his watch; the trial was supposed to start five minutes ago.

The man next to him let out a small, femenine sounding laugh, making Alex look up at him. He was significantly taller, even sitting down, with blonde hair neatly combed to the side and long legs that crossed over each other in a way that could only be described as  _dainty_. At his feet was a red backpack, something blue hanging out of the partially opened zipper.

"Um," Alex began, almost giving him a tap on the shoulder but deciding against it, "Hi."

"Hello," the man responded flippantly, though he didn't look up from his phone. It reminded Alex of Aaron. He tried again.

"Wasn't the trial supposed to sta-"

"They're awaiting a witness' arrival," the man cut him off, and Alex noticed this time that his voice was laced with a thick British accent. He would've considered it odd, but his own voice most likely gave away that he was from the Caribbean, so he didn't say anything about it.

"Ah. Cool," Alex responded, nodding awkwardly to himself. "I don't, um… I don't think you're supposed to have your phone in the courtroom."

This time, the man did look up at him, lifting a carefully sculpted eyebrow with curiosity. Alex cleared his throat. "Um. The, uh- the law says-"

"I know what the law says, child," the man stated. He looked genuinely shocked that Alex had  _dared_  to tell him about the  _law._  It seemed like he was going to say something else, but the judge rapped the mallet several times just as he was opening his mouth, drawing everyone's attention to the bailiff.

"Please rise," she called, and everyone stood up, now blocking Alex's view of the stand. "The Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, Criminal Division, is now in session, the Honorable Judge Elizabeth Ross presiding."

The judge, Elizabeth Ross, stood up and gestured to the rest of the courtroom. "Everyone but the jury may be seated. Miss Kitty Livingston," she gestured to the bailiff, "Please swear in the jury."

Kitty Livingston turned to the jury, who had remained standing while everyone else sat down; Alex could see again. "Please raise your right hand," she said, and the jury did so. "Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will truly listen to this case and render a true verdict and a fair sentence as to this defendant?"

Almost robotically, the jury answered, "I do."

"You may be seated," Kitty said, nodding her head in Judge Ross' direction.

"Members of the jury," the judge began, starting a speech Alex had nearly memorized, "Your duty today will be to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty based only on facts and evidence provided in this case. The prosecution has the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. This burden remains on the prosecution through the trial. The prosecution must prove that a crime was committed and that the defendant is the person who committed the crime. However, if you are not satisfied of the defendant's guilt to that extent, then reasonable doubt exists and the defendant must be found not guilty. Miss Livingston, what is today's case?"

Kitty addressed the jury at the same time as she addressed Judge Ross, smiling politely. "Your Honor, today's case is The State of Pennsylvania v. Samuel Seabury."

Nodding, Judge Ross looked back toward the two tables. "Very good. Is the prosecution ready?"

"Yes, your Honor," answered the prosecuting lawyer, standing up and immediately sitting back down.

"Is the defense ready?"

Washington stood up, hands tucked into the front of his jacket. He looked like a giant from where Alex was sitting. "Yes, your Honor."

"Very good, that means we can begin," Judge Ross said, nodding to herself and then to the prosecution. "Doctor Laurens, your opening statement."

A tall, sharp looking man with a hooked nose and freckles stood up, and Alex heard a murmur from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Lafayette shaking their head.  _Laurens, hang on…_  "Your Honor, members of the jury, I am Doctor Henry Laurens, and I am representing City Councilman Doctor Benjamin Franklin in this case. I intend to prove the defendant Samuel Seabury guilty of poisoning my client with the intent to kill. Thank you."

Dr. Laurens sat down, and the jury murmured among itself, silenced only when Judge Ross gave them a stern look. She then turned to Washington, nodding. "Mister Washington, your opening statement please."

Washington stood up, clearing his throat. "Your Honor, members of the jury, my name is George Washington. I am here today representing Samuel Seabury in this case against him, and I intend to prove him not guilty of the accusations placed on him by the prosecution, and convince you not to convict. Thank you," he stated, sitting down. Alex felt like he was going to throw up he was so excited to be there.

Nodding once more, the judge now gestured back to the prosecution. "Doctor Laurens, you may call your first witness," she said, and Dr. Laurens stood back up, pursing his lips.

"Your Honor, I'm afraid there's been a last minute change in our witness," the man said, earning a displeased look from the judge.

"State your reason, Doctor Laurens, I'm not a fan of you not telling me this before the trial began," she told him coldly, and Dr. Laurens cleared his throat.

"My witness did not arrive, but we found a replacement, if we're permitted to proceed," he informed. The judge sighed, but waved her hand and wrote something down, prompting him to go on. "Thank you, your Honor. I'd like to call Mrs. Theodosia Prevost to the stand."

Alex watched as a young woman with dark skin and curly black hair stood up and walked up to the witness stand, placing her hand on the bible and raising her other next to her face.

Once she had sworn in, she continued to her chair, tucking her skirt under her legs and sitting down. Dr. Laurens walked in front of the prosecution's table, approaching the woman, Theodosia, with his hands folded behind his back.

"Mrs. Prevost, your husband is Councilman John Prevost, correct?" he asked, and Theodosia nodded, curls bouncing around her face.

"Yes, sir."

"And he has worked with Doctor Benjamin Franklin in the past," Dr. Laurens continued, tilting his head. Theodosia nodded once again.

"He has, sir."

"Would he describe Doctor Franklin as a  _likable_  person?"

"Objection," Washington interjected, standing up. "Relevance?"

The judge looked toward Dr. Laurens, who smiled and raised a hand toward both of them as he shook his head. "I'm getting there, calm down," he said to Washington before he turned back to the witness stand.

"Overruled, Washington. Sit down," Judge Ross agreed, and Dr. Laurens smiled.

"Has Doctor Franklin ever done anything in the past that could have prompted someone to inflict harm upon him?"

Theodosia, a bored look in her eyes, shook her head. "No, sir. Doctor Franklin was an…  _odd_  man, but he meant well in everything he did. He treated  _me_  well, that's for sure," she answered, throwing a glance over to the defense table.

"Care to…  _elaborate,_ Mrs. Prevost?" Dr. Laurens asked, an almost sly smile on his face. Theodosia pursed her lips, shrugging.

"Sure, I guess. I work in the filing department, right? I'm basically an intern, not even kidding. Well Doctor Franklin brought me coffee and stayed to talk almost every day, and well… he did that for almost everybody that didn't get much respect at City Hall. That's what I mean. He was a nice guy," she responded, casual tone getting tighter half way through.

Dr. Laurens nodded, turning slightly toward the jury, but keeping his eyes trained on his witness. "Doesn't sound like a man who deserves to be poisoned, does he?"

"Objection. Prompting the jury," Washington said, standing up calmly. The judge shook her head.

"Overruled. Continue, Doctor."

Alex could feel anger bubbling up in him as Dr. Laurens shot a smug grin at the professor, turning back to Theodosia. "Well, Mrs. Prevost?"

"No, sir. Doctor Franklin was a very nice man," Theodosia told him, and Dr. Laurens paced backwards several steps, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, Mrs. Prevost, have you met the defendant Mr. Seabury before?" he asked, and Theodosia let out a half-laugh. "You find this funny, Mrs. Prevost?"

"Yeah, I've met him. He comes over to my place every Friday, Jack's friends with him. And he comes down to my office sometimes, usually just to file a complaint or something," she answered, rolling her eyes.

Dr. Laurens nodded, contemplating. "Did he ever, ah,  _complain_  about Doctor Franklin before?"

"Yes, sir. He thought Franklin was too left wing and liberal. Told Jack so just about every time they talked," Theodosia told him, tossing her curly hair out of her eyes. "Said he wouldn't give a shit if Doctor Franklin dropped dead on the job."

"Interesting," Dr. Laurens said pointedly, and Alex cringed. He could basically  _see_  the jury picking their side. "And yet… there were no complaints from  _others_ about Doctor Franklin?"

"Objection. Circumstantial." Alex didn't even have to look to know that it was Washington who had objected. The judge pursed her lips.

"Overruled. Doctor Laurens?"

"No other complaints about him, Mrs. Prevost?" Dr. Laurens continued. Alex wanted to punch the self-satisfied grin right off his face.

Theodosia gave a firm head shake. "No, sir. Everyone loved Doctor Franklin."

There was murmuring from the jury's stand, and the judge rapped the mallet several times, calling for silence. Dr. Laurens smiled a her, walking back toward his table. "Your witness, George," he said as he passed a glance at Professor Washington, who stood up.

"You may begin the cross examination, Mr. Washington," the judge said, and by the time she was done talking, Washington was already standing in front of the witness stand.

"Mrs. Prevost, you work in filing, correct?" Washington began, and Alex could feel himself sitting forward in his chair with excitement. Dr. Laurens, before Theodosia could answer, slammed his hand down on the table.

"Objection, your Honor," he sneered, "Previously answered."

Washington threw a look over his shoulder, eyebrow raised sarcastically. "Just confirming the facts, Henry," he said innocently, and the judge nodded in agreement.

"Overruled, please continue."

Folding his hands in front of him, Washington gave Theodosia a smile. "You work in filing," he said, this time as a statement, "Do workplace harassment complaints and reports go through you?"

"Yes they do, sir. Most of them. I mean, some of them go straight to the police, but I check most of them out," she answered, shrugging, the bored look returning to her eyes.

"Right. I suppose that means my client's report of the attack on him by Councilman Benedict Arnold passed over your desk?" Washington continued, and Alex let an annoyed sigh slip out as Dr. Laurens slammed his hands down once again.

"Ob _jection_ , your Honor! Relevance?"

"Sustained. Washington, rephrase the question or move on," Judge Ross said, nodding to Washington. The professor didn't falter, chuckling and nodding as he looked back up at Theodosia.

"Of course. Mrs. Prevost, did Doctor Franklin convince you to help him cover up Mr. Seabury's attack report to help save Councilman Arnold's job?" he asked, and there were several gasps from the shocked jury members. Even Theodosia was surprised, eyes wide and hands digging into her thighs.

"Settle down, settle down. Mrs. Prevost, please answer the question," the judge called with several more raps of the mallet.

"Um- I don't- why would you accuse me of something like that?" she asked, growing flustered. Washington tilted his head, shrugging.

"If you didn't, just tell me and we can move on. But remember, Mrs. Prevost, it's illegal to lie on the stand," he responded, and there was a tense silence before Theodosia let out an almost pained sigh.

"Yes, sir. I held it up in the system."

There was real  _shouting_  now, and the judge had to stand up to calm everyone down, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Everyone be  _quiet!_ "

"Your Honor, discredit that on the account that it is a response based off an unfounded question," Dr. Laurens demanded, snarling at Washington, but Judge Ross shook her head.

"I will do nothing of the sort," she said shortly, and Dr. Laurens' mouth fell open.

"Your Honor, he's going to continue to examine my witness from an unfair perspective-"

Washington let out a chuckle, raising a hand to silence him. "No, I'm not, Henry. No further questions, your Honor," he said, walking back toward the defense table.

However, it was just at that moment the doors of the courtroom burst open, everyone turning to see who had come in. Much to Alex's surprise, it was Aaron, huffing and looking as if he had just run a long way.

He came to a screeching stop at the end of the audience rows, leaning toward Professor Washington and gesturing for him to come over. "One moment, your Honor," he called, walking toward where Aaron now stood. Alex craned his neck to see what was going on. "What the hell are you doing!?" Washington whispered, and Aaron leaned forward further, responding with something inaudible.

But it must have been something important, because Washington's eyes went wide, and he stood up straighter. "Your Honor, due to new information, I have another question for the witness, if it's alright," he said, turning back to the judge's stand.

"Of course," Judge Ross responded, gesturing to Theodosia.

Washington couldn't contain his pleased smirk. "Mrs. Prevost, how long were you sleeping with Doctor Franklin?"

Gasps went through the jury, and Alex sat up straighter, turning slightly to see Aaron sitting down behind him with a smug grin tugging at his lips. Theodosia, now red in the face, was spluttering on the stand. "I don't- how did you- That's  _ridiculous, and-_ "

"Mrs. Prevost, please answer the question," Washington smiled, "If you weren't sleeping with him, please just say so. However, gauging your reaction to the question, I'd be willing to bet the answer is about two months."

Theodosia still didn't answer, too appalled to do so, and Washington took a step forward. "Let me rephrase the question. Did Doctor Franklin initiate an affair with you to stop my client's report of his attack from getting into the system for investigation?" he asked, and she shut her mouth, biting her lower lip. "Mrs. Prevost?"

"Yes," she whispered, and Alex heard the jury beginning to murmur once again. "Yes, he did. But I didn't-"

"No further questions, your Honor."

 

* * *

 

_"Get back!" Eliza whispered sharply, and the bag was dropped on the ground as everyone flattened themselves against the walls, hearts pounding. Alex snuck a glance at Lafayette, whose eyes were squeezed shut, hands in fists at their sides. Eliza had tears running down her face._

_The silhouette standing outside the stained glass door seemed to hesitate for a moment, the shape of it's head turning several times before finally raising it's hand to knock. The sound was like thunder to their ears, fear spiking up every time the person tapped their fist on the door. "Professor Washington?" a voice called from outside._

_Alex looked at Eliza and mouthed 'Burr'. She clenched her teeth and leaned her head against the wall in both annoyance and fear. The knocking sounded again, this time louder. Alex tried to calm down the hammering in his chest._

_"Professor, I need to talk to you, are you home?" Burr asked, seeming to be trying to look through the stained glass of the front door. No one made a sound. "Eliza, I saw your car down the street, I know you're here. Is the professor there?"_

_She mouthed a distressed 'fuck' toward Alex, and he almost cursed out loud. If her car had been seen, that meant Burr could place them at the crime scene. He started trying to come up with an alibi that could explain it. "Seriously? There's a light on, I know somebody's here. Can you stop being a dick and come to the door?" Burr was starting to get irritated now; they could hear the sound of his foot tapping on the porch, but no one moved._

_And then a distinct ringtone started blaring._

_"Madison?" Burr asked, confused. "Dude, I know that's your phone, what are you doing here? Answer the door."_

_Madison was now tearing at his coat pockets, trying to find his cell phone to turn it off. Eliza was gaping at him with wide eyes, hands tangled in her hair. Lafayette had dug their nails into Alex's shoulder, stopping him from moving anywhere as Burr knocked furiously on the door. "Come on, man! Open up!"_

_Finally, Madison wrestled his phone out of his pocket, but Alex, an idea springing into his mind, waved his arms around before the small man could turn off the call. 'No, no!' he mouthed, and Madison stared at him as Burr continued to knock, finger hovering over the decline button._

_The call rang out. They were left in silence._

_"Whatever..." they heard Burr grumble, turning on his heel and heading away from the door, the sounds of his shoes creaking over the porch and down the front steps._

_They all waited until he was long gone. Then Eliza whirled on Madison, more anger on her face than they had ever seen before. "Why the hell is Jefferson calling you?" she demanded, and everyone stared at him, shocked. Madison didn't answer at first, mouth opening and closing like he was a fish until Eliza advanced on him, hands balled into fists. "Did you sell us out!?"_

_"No!" he gasped, shaking his head, "No, of course I didn't!"_

_"Then why the hell's he calling you, man!?" Mulligan asked, staring Madison down. "And in the middle of the night! That's why you disappeared into the kitchen earlier! Guys, he sold us out!"_

_"No, I didn't sell you out!" Madison protested, but it wasn't being heard._

_"You obnoxious little brat!"_

_"Fils de pute! James we trusted you!"_

_"Stop!" he cried, and they all shut up immediately. He'd never spoken so loudly in the entire time they'd known him. "I didn't sell you out! Please stop asking why Thomas is calling me, I don't have ANY reason to tell you! It has nothing to do with you!"_

_Laurens crossed his arms, widening his stance. "Oh, so you're on a first name basis with the king of the douches now, are ya?" he demanded with his mouth turned down in a scowl. "What, are you in cahoots with 'im or something!? Is that how it is?"_

_"It's none of your business," Madison seethed, not meeting Laruens' eyes._

_"Someone is dead, James, everything is everyone's business now!" Lafayette argued, pushing themself between Laurens and Madison. "Besides, we have every right to know."_

_His phone started ringing again, the same contact photo flashing up on the screen. Madison didn't answer but he didn't deny the call either, staring at it with a blank, almost embarrassed expression. Eliza's eyes went wide. "No..." she gasped, throwing a hand over her mouth, "Oh my god, Madison!"_

_"Shut up!" he snapped, and Lauren's mouth fell open with realization._

_"Ay, dios mios!" he shouted as he took a step back, "Shit!"_

_Madison looked like he was trying to disappear into himself, still ringing phone clenched tightly in his hand. "I said shut up!" he shouted, eyes trained on the floor._

_"What?" Mulligan demanded, not understanding. "What are you guys talking about?"_

_Madison didn't respond, he just looked back toward the bag. "It doesn't matter. We need to get the bag to the car."_

_"But what are they freaking out about!?"_

 

* * *

 

"So that's John Laurens'  _dad_?" Alex asked as he took a long drink of water, watching Lafayette nod. "Like John Laurens my neighbor who's apparently also your friend."

"Oui, like that John Laurens," they said, a look of disgust on their face. "He is a bad man, Alexander. I do not like him."

Alex could agree that it was reasonable; he had no respect for Henry Laurens' sloppy interrogation of his witnesses, his constant unfounded objections while Washington cross-examined. It was almost  _annoying_  to listen to him talk. And if Lafayette of all people disliked him, he had to be just as shit of a person outside the courtroom.

"Have you seen Madison anywhere?" Alex asked out of the blue, earning a confused look from Lafayette. "James Madison. The one that sits next to me in class. 'Bout yea high."

"Ah! No, I have not seen him," they responded, thinking. "Perhaps he is ill? He did not seem to feel very well in class yesterday."

This only got a dismissive hand wave from Alex. "No, that's just Madison, he never seems like he's feeling well. Hey! Aaron!" he lost his train of thought, turning and waving to his roommate, who was walking past them.

"Alexander," Aaron responded, nodding and stopping to chat. "You're, um… Lafontaine, right?"

Giggling slightly, Lafayette shook their head. "Ah, close! It is  _Lafayette._  You are Aaron Burr, no? I believe we met once at the… hm, how you say,  _orientation?_ " they asked, and Aaron smiled, pointing in recognition.

"Yeah, yeah, we did. And, um, I gotta go. Washington wanted to talk to me before the trial reconvened. So you gentlemen have a good day," he said, walking between the two and clapping each on the shoulder as he went. Alex couldn't help but notice Lafayette's cheerful smile falter slightly.

"You okay?" he asked, tilting his head. Lafayette nodded with a shrug, expecting to have the topic left alone, but Alex narrowed his eyes. He didn't back down so easy. "Lafayette…"

" _Gentlemen_ ," they sighed, scratching the side of their head with another uncomfortable shrug.

Understanding, Alex looked back over to where Aaron had went. "Do you want me to  _talk_ to him about it?" he asked. He was entirely ready to storm over there and start chewing Aaron out, but Lafayette laughed, smile returning to their face.

"Non, cher, I am fine. But thank you for your concern, I really take it to heart," they said, "Do you know when the break is meant to be over?"

"In about two minutes," answered a woman, hidden from Alex's view by Lafayette's tall figure. Leaning around them, he saw that it was Eliza, tapping away at her phone. "You can go back in whenever you want, though. I'm just staying out here so I can be on my phone."

Lafayette turned so they could face her, ever-present smile somehow growing wider. "Eliza, it is a pleasure to see you again," they said, and she finished typing out a message before looking up, eyes brightening.

"Laf! Hey! Didn't realize that was you!" she gasped, immediately darting forward for a hug. "I heard your presentation in class, I was gonna say hi after, but you were gone! What's up?"

"Nothing is up, I have just been doing as I do. The GSA has a meeting tomorrow, though I do not know if I will be able to attend, because of the trial, yes? Will you be participating this year?" they asked with a tilt of the head, pulling out of the hug but keeping Eliza's hands in their own.

"Yeah, I think, if I don't get too overloaded with work and stuff. And if Washington hires me, I mean as  _if_  that would happen, I probably won't join. Too much would be going on," she sighed, rolling her eyes and letting them come to a stop on Alex, who seemed to pique her curiosity. "You're that Hamlet kid, right?"

_Oh shit, she's talking to me. How do I talk? How to a girl? She's pretty! How do I person?_  "Um," Alex said intelligently as his mind raced, trying to fall back on his default-playboy flirting techniques. "Hamilton, actually. Alexander Hamilton. You're Elizabeth Schuyler."

She gave him a nod and a small, almost  _nervous_  smile. "Yes. That's me. I- um, you can call me Eliza," she said.

"Yeah, ah- right, sorry, you told me that," Alex responded, flirtatious facade falling apart just as fast as he'd put it on, "We met. At Washington's house the other day. You helped me with part of the case file."

"Oh! Right, yeah!" Eliza remembered, and if Alex didn't know any better, he'd say she was blushing. Lafayette let out a low whistle.

"Seeds of young love, blossoming in the courthouse," they hummed, and Eliza gave their arm a harsh slap. "I am  _kidding._  Who wants to head in?"

"I do. Everybody's gone. Damn, two minutes goes fast when you're talking," Eliza said, jerking a thumb toward the clock behind her and grabbing Lafayette by the arm to pull them toward the courtroom. "Let's do it. Come on."

The three of them walked in just on time, Lafayette disappearing into their row first, then Eliza into hers, and Alex headed up the aisle toward his. On the way, he finally saw Madison, hunched over in his seat and looking a bit worse for wear. They met each other's eyes for a brief moment, and Alex mouthed a gentle,  _'Are you okay?'_. Madison just turned away.

Judge Ross rapped the mallet down just as Alex was taking his seat, silencing the courtroom. "Reconvening the trial of the State of Pennsylvania v. Samuel Seabury," she called, voice echoing around the room. "May the prosecution please call your second witness."

Doctor Laurens, ever-present smirk on his face, stood up and walked around his table toward Judge Ross. "I'd like to call James Otis to the stand," he announced, and a pudgy man in a blue jacket waddled his way to the witness stand, swearing in and sitting down.

_Here we go again…_

 

* * *

 

It was late-afternoon by the time Doctor Laurens' third witness went on the stand - too close to sunset for comfort - and the trial was called for a recess until tomorrow. Alex stood at the bus stop with Aaron for ten minutes, tapping his foot and checking his phone until he finally gave up and started the walk back to the apartment when Aaron said he was going to the library.

The walk wasn't exactly a short one, and of course Alex was grumbling about it the whole time; he was tired, grouchy, his head hurt, and knew he had a shit-load of homework to do from his other classes.  _Eugh, I wonder if Doctor Jackson responded to my email…_ he thought to himself, remembering that he was missing both Torts and Property to go to the trial. No one was going to be too happy about that, no matter how apologetic he was in his emails.

The street lamps were just being turned on as Alex made his way through the front doors of the apartment building, ascending the stairs quickly while pulling out his key. Unfortunately, this sent an entire folder of loose papers flying out of his backpack and down the stairs. He couldn't even muster up the strength to make a face.

_Nothing's really going great for me today, is it?_ Alex asked himself as he started picking up the papers.  _Missing class, walking home, Madison won't even talk to me…_

It took an extra five minutes to get into his apartment when he realized his key had been lost in the fray of dropping papers, and he had to re-scour the stairs to find it.  _At least the trial went well? No, the jury still likes Doctor Franklin. Washington might've discredited the witnesses, but that doesn't mean Seabury's a likable guy._

When he finally got into his apartment, Alex threw his backpack down against the side of his bed, hoping in the back of his mind that his computer hadn't broken, before turning on the television that Aaron had so generously brought from home. Not bothering to sit down, Alex flicked through the channels looking for something to take his mind off the issues at hand. Nothing, nothing, Disney, nothing, hell is real, nothing-

His hand froze on the remote as he went to pass over the news channel, for some reason captivated by the headline flashing up on the screen, followed by a female reporter speaking into a microphone.

"… _Law student Charles Lee has been officially reported missing after not returning to his campus dorm last night. Lee is currently attending Middleton University, and is the former assistant of Defense Attorney George Washington. If you have any news regarding his disappearance or his current location, we urge you to contact us at the number at the bottom of your screen._ "


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo first of all i am SO sorry about the long time between updates, finals have actually killed me my mortal soul left my body  
> second thank you SO MUCH to everyone who left reviews, i love you guys a lot and you deserve ALL the hugs in the world bc you feed my soul!!

_"Just hear them sleigh bells ringaling ting ting tingaling too..."_

_"Can you turn that shit off?" Mulligan demanded, huffing in the passenger's seat. Eliza shot him a glare, turning up the music louder just to spite him. "Liz seriously!"_

_"What, you don't like it? You don't like the Christmas music?" she asked in mock-pity as the music continued to blare, "Well you know what I don't like? Killing people! Whoo hoo! C'mon it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together w-"_

_"Shut up!" Laurens snapped, slamming his hands against the back of Madison's seat. She continued singing loudly and off key. "Where the fuck did Lafayette go!? How are they taking so long!? What does that asshole even have to get? Do they think we want to be sitting out here in a parking lot in the middle of a well lit area with a goddamn BODY ON OUR LAPS!?_ _"_

_"We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you, John!" Alex hissed, leaning around the Ikea bag to face Laurens. "So shut up!"_

_"Guys, he hasn't picked up. What if he's mad at me?" Madison asked from the middle seat, looking down at his phone pitifully as his call rang out for the fifth time. "This was a shitty plan, Alexander."_

 

* * *

 

The rapping on his door brought George Washington out of his train of thought, and he looked up from his file.  _Who the hell..._  he knew in the back of his mind that it had to be one of his law students, probably coming to ask him for an exemption from the trial, but it was still curious how late it was. "Um, Mr. Washinton?" Seabury asked from his seat across the desk, "Are you gonna answer that?"

Nodding, Washington stood up from his desk and placed his pen down neatly across the papers in the file. "Yes, I'll be just a moment, Samuel," he responded, and he strode quickly through his office and down the hall to the door. The knocking had become more insistent in the time it took him to cross to the door, and he found himself shouting, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

He hadn't even gotten the door all the way open when Alex Hamilton was yelling at him. "Sir, the news, did you see the news!? The news channel, like the late night one!? It was covering a disappearance-"

"Sorry, what?" Washington responded, feeling like he'd been blown backwards by the young man's barrage of words. "Alexander slow down. What happened on the news?"

Alex took a deep breath, and Washington couldn't help notice the pink in his cheeks and the way he was struggling for air; it was like he'd  _run_  from his apartment. "Sir, you said in class the other day that your assistant quit, right?" he asked in rushed, almost  _frightened_  tone, and Washington's brow furrowed.

"Yes, I believe I did," he said, "But I'm not looking to hire an assistant right now, Alexander, you'll just have to-"

"No, no, sir, that's not what I was asking," Alex cut him off, waving a hand around, "He quit his job with no precursor or warning? Like he never said anything about wanting to quit before?"

Washington shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "I suppose not. Just the usual complaints about workload, but I get that from everyone. What's this about, Alexander?" he asked. The color was drained out of Alex's face now.

"Did you watch the news?"

Washington sighed, shaking his head in exasperation and gesturing over his shoulder. "I've been going over tomorrow with our client, I don't really have time to-"

"Was your assistant's name Charles Lee?"

Okay, that really caught him off guard.  _How did he know that?_ Nodding slowly, Washington shifted his weight from one foot to the other, concern making it's way onto his face. "Yes, it was. What's this about, Alexander? Did he do something bad enough to get on the news?" he asked. Alex took another breath with his mouth open, still seeming winded from his run.

"He's been reported missing, sir, I just saw it on the news," Alex told him, and Washington felt his eyes go wide, the world getting smaller around him.  _No,_  he thought, beginning to panic. But he hid any emotional response from Alex, nodding and clasping his hands behind his back.

"That's unfortunate, Alexander, but I'm afraid it's none of my business. He doesn't work for me anymore. And I don't have any information regarding his current location. Thank you for telling me, have a good night," he masked his concern in his professional voice, moving to close the door on the young man in front of him. But Alex pushed it back open.

"No, sir, you don't understand, Lee went missing last night, the date, sir, it was September fifte-"

"Alexander, you came to me with a question, and I gave you my answer. Go home," Washington repeated, giving Alex a stern look. "Now."

Standing up straighter, but still looking hurt, Alex nodded. "Right. Okay. Have a good night, sir," he responded, and Washington inclined his head.

"You too, son. See you at the courthouse tomorrow."

 

* * *

 

Alex plodded back to his apartment with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. He was far from happy. It wasn't just Washington's flippant response - he wasn't sure what he was expecting in the first place by coming to tell him - but rather the date and nature of the disappearance which was setting him on edge. It was too familiar. Way too familiar.

Blowing out a breath of air, Alex checked his phone, the time reading 12:05 AM. There was a missed call from an unknown number, but it was from several hours ago. He didn't bother to call them back. He also noted three notifications from his email, and one snapchat. Like the phone call, he didn't open them, sighing and shoving the device back into his pocket.

The street was dark, several of the street lamps busted, and a light drizzle from the day before left puddles in all the dips and potholes. It was a setting he recognized, and it made him shiver, feet splashing along underneath him as the sounds of distant traffic continued to buzz in his ears. Buzzing, buzzing, sort of distorted... suddenly the world was spinning, shapes blurring in and out, and he was lightheaded... " _Alexander._ "

He stopped in his tracks, turning to look behind him and trying to calm the unease in his stomach. When he'd finally shaken himself out of the daze, Alex tossed his hair out of his eyes and turned on his heel, starting back toward his apartment. As he walked, he looked back down at his phone to check the time, brow furrowing when he saw that it now read  _1:26 AM._  His mouth was hanging open.  _How long was I standing there?_

It couldn't have been more than fifteen more seconds of walking when he stepped wrong off the sidewalk, crashing down onto his knee. His thoughts as he was falling were nothing more than  _dammit, you klutz,_  but when he hit the ground, his mind exploded into memories of the same pain and  _darkness, god it was so dark and flashing images and_   _noises and a face and his name-_

" _Alexander!_ "

He hit the wall next to the door of his apartment at full force, a resounding  _crack_  echoing no doubt through the entire building. He stumbled backwards, putting a hand to his pounding head and breathing hard. The world was still spinning, he felt like he was floating; he desperately grappled in his mind for what his therapist had told him so long ago.  _Three things I can see, three things I can hear, three things I can feel, my name, my mother's name-_

The sound of a creaking door flying open made Alex snap his head upwards, eyes wide. A haggard John Laurens was standing in his doorway. "Alex?" he asked, voice cracking.

"John," Alex breathed, finding John's voice was pulling him back to reality. "John Laurens. You're my neighbor. What time is it?"

"Um... it's like two in the morning, dude. You okay? You aren't like... high or anything, right? You kinda seem a little... messed up right now," John responded, stepping out of his apartment slightly. Though he felt a pang of uneasiness in his chest, Alex waved his hand around dismissively, shaking his head with a tight laugh.

"I'm fine, man. Court at eight tomorrow, I was just at the library doing some work for other classes I'm missing," he lied, breathing slowing down the longer he looked at John Laurens.  _God_ , the man was perfect. Stunning eyes, shining hair, absolutely  _gorgeous_  freckles, the strongest jawline Alex had ever seen in his life. Madison's words to him from several years ago echoed in his mind,  _you need a guy with a strong jawline so you have a good seat, Alexander. Trust me on this._

"Alright, just wanted to make sure. You kinda crashed into the wall there," John responded, and Alex nodded with a glance up and down his neighbor's body.

"Yeah, I got too excited about getting into bed. How about you? You seem sorta upset, if you don't mind me noticing," he observed, trying to shift the topic away from himself, and John shrugged with a sad look on his face. Alex put his hands up defensively. "Hey, I won't make you talk if you don't want to. But we are neighbors. So if you ever  _need_  to talk, I'm here for you."

This brought a small smile to John's face. "Thanks, Alex. Same to you," he responded, leaning against his doorway and letting out a sigh. "And you know... if you're ever feelin' down or anything, just hit me up. I get a bottle of hella expensive whiskey every month from my old man, it comes free with the 'give mi hija back and you can rejoin the family' letter. If you drink, that is."

It took Alex a moment to process what John had meant, and when he did, he didn't comment, simply offering him a nod and a half salute. "I'll remember that, John. Thanks. Have a good night," he said, not waiting for John's response as he slipped into his apartment.

The lights were off, and he could hear Aaron asleep and quietly snoring. He kicked off his shoes and stumbled across the room to his bed, falling down on it and not bothering to undress or change into pajamas. His mind was racing too much for that, memories of a face,  _such a distinct face,_  and a voice. And a place. Dark place, dark street. He couldn't pin down the identity of anything in his memories, couldn't match a name to the face or a title to the street.

He wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.

 

* * *

 

_"Just try again. Maybe he's showering. Leave a message or something," Mulligan suggested through clenched teeth as he glared a hole in Eliza's speakers. Madison redialed the number with a sigh. "Eliza for real, I swear to god if you don't turn that off right now-"_

_"IT'S LOVELY WEATHER FOR A SLEIGH RIDE TOGETHER-"_

_They all jumped when the door of the car was yanked open, Lafayette sliding into the middle seat as they started to say something. But Laurens attacked them first. "Where the hell have you been!?" he yelled, almost flinging the Ikea bag off his lap as he tried to launch himself forward. "What took you so long!? Could you not find the fucking fluid!?"_

_"First off, shut your mouth," Lafayette hissed, chin quivering as if they were going to start crying again. Laurens, much to everyone's surprise, did exactly that. "Second, I bought other items and had a conversation with the cashier, you know, just in case I was seen on the security video!"_

_Everyone fell silent, until Eliza cleared her throat and glared back at them. "You want me to drive or are we gonna sit here like a bunch of assholes?" she demanded in a cold voice. Alex waved to her to start driving._

_She pulled out of the gas station and onto the road, going just a little too fast. And just their luck, sirens started blaring as soon as she hit twenty miles over the speed limit. "Fuck!" Eliza swore, pulling over to the side of the road. The police car pulled in behind her, and they all began to panic as the door opened. There was a man with a flashlight approaching her window to knock._

_Alex pushed a hand back inside the Ikea bag._

 

* * *

 

The trial went just as well as it did the day previous, calling a recess until the next day since Dr. Laurens called an extra witness and Washington didn't get enough time to finish calling his own to the stand.

All his students left the courthouse grumbling to themselves about more missed classes, typing out emails to their professors on their phones while they waited for buses and roommates to come pick them up. Lafayette was walking with Eliza and Alex, rambling as usual at a high speed, talking about their escapades on the way to the United States back when they were a teenager.

"It is when Adrienne and I first met, xe was in the window seat and I was in the aisle seat and the man who was meant to sit in the middle never arrived. I was... how you say, Alexander? Entiché? Ah wait, no! Do not tell me, I know this!  _S_ _mitten!_ I was smitten with xer immediately. We dated briefly, but now we are content to be friends," they smiled, letting out a contented sigh.

"Xe sounds wonderful, Laf," Eliza said, pulling her bag tighter around her shoulder and giving a wave to another student walking by. "See you, James!"

Alex and Lafayette turned, seeing Madison passing by them. He nodded in Eliza's direction. "Bye, Eliza," he responded quietly, and Alex waved as well. This didn't get a reaction. But of course Lafayette's wave did, why was Alex even surprised anymore. "Bye. Have a good night."

When Madison had disappeared down the street, Alex turned with a half-annoyed, half-desperate look on his face. "Why won't he  _talk_  to me!? What did I  _do_!?" he sighed, and Lafayette gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"I am sure you did nothing wrong, Alexander," they reassured him, glancing over their shoulder to see a young man waving him over to a car. "I have to go. Au revoir, mon ami." They gave Alex and Eliza chaste kisses on either cheek, dashing toward the man with a wave and a shout of, "Robert! You are a blessing in disguise! I am  _ready_  for bagels!"

And then they were gone, too, leaving Eliza alone with Alex. She offered him a small smile. "If you need a ride back to your dorm or wherever, I'm sure Angelica wouldn't mind," she said, but Alex shook his head politely.

"Thanks, Eliza. Seriously. But I usually walk," he responded with a glance up at the sky. "And I'd love to stay and chat but Jackson assigned me extra work to make up for what I missed today and yesterday. Sorry."

Eliza waved her hand around dismissively, still smiling. "It's fine. If you ever need a ride, though, just tell me," she said, and Alex clapped her on the shoulder, starting to walk backwards in the direction of where he must live. "See you tomorrow!"

"See you, Eliza!"

She stared after him as he left, feeling a sigh escape her lips. He was cute. He was  _really_  cute. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she thought about what her sister would say if she told her she was crushing on a guy she'd known for a total of two days.

A small yelp escaped her as someone grabbed her arm, dragging her forward. "Let's go," Angelica said quickly, but not harshly, "Thomas is coming home with us, we're gonna order Chinese. Hope you don't mind."

As the two walked toward Angelica's enormous hummer, Eliza gave her a questioning look, raising an eyebrow. "I don't mind. Why's he coming over? You two going to do  _the sex?_ " she asked, and Angelica rolled her eyes.

"We're gonna talk to Peggy, see if they can get us any more shit on Franklin or Laurens' witnesses," she explained, opening the door for Eliza and sliding into the driver's seat. They waited in silence for a few minutes, Eliza texting in one of seven group chats.

[robbyshurt]

\- out for dinner with my fave baguette

He had attached a picture of himself and Lafayette sitting in a coffee shop just a short way from the courthouse, both wearing ridiculous faces with coffee in their hands. Eliza laughed and started tapping out her response just as everyone else's messages were coming in.

[southernhems]

\- you both look so cute! laf where did you get that top?

[LARGEBAGUETTE]

\- american eagle I think!

\- it was on sale you should go buy one you would look wonderful

[lizzyschuyler]

\- SHURTLEFF DID YOU CUT YOUR HAIR!?

\- IT LOOKS SO GOOD

[robbyshurt]

\- hell yea i did ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[southernhems]

\- rob every time i see yall name i think robby SHART its fucking me up emotionally

\- i don't know why SHART keeps auto capitalizing end my life please

"If he takes one more damn minute in that courthouse I'm gonna rip his head right off his body I swear," Angelica's annoyed grumble made Eliza look up from the chat, eyes wide. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud."

 

* * *

 

_The white light cast by the gas station gave the car an eerie green lighting, illuminating everyone's terrified faces as the officer tapped on Eliza's window with his flashlight. She gulped, throwing a glance over her shoulder, and rolled down the window. "Hi, officer," she greeted in a friendly voice, "Is there a problem?"_

_"I'm afraid there is, ma'am. You have any idea how fast you were going?" he asked, sounding rather annoyed. Eliza took a deep breath, trying to keep the smile on her face._

_"Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I- I'm just coming from our school's bonfire, my friend James had an asthma attack while we were there and I have to get him back to his dorm," she lied, pointing over her shoulder at Madison. "He doesn't have his inhaler. It's pretty bad."_

_The officer glanced back to where the others were sitting with a suspicious look on his face. "You for real?" he asked in Madison's direction, and the young man_ _coughed into the fold of his arm several times as he nodded, gesturing at his throat._

_"Can't breathe. Sorry, officer," he gasped, and the officer sighed deeply, standing back up and rubbing the bridge of his nose._

_"Okay. My daughter's got asthma, I understand. You get off free this time, but don't try any of that speeding again. Feel better, kid," he said with a small incline of the head in Madison's direction._

_"Thank you, officer," Eliza beamed, and he returned to his car, allowing her to drive back out onto the road, this time minding the speed limit. The smile fell off her face, returning to a scowl. "That was way too close."_

 

* * *

 

A glass of lemonade was sat on a coffee table next to a computer and a large box of Oreos. On the couch in front of it sat three people, all leaning toward the screen with intense stares. "Is this the one you wanted? Looks shady enough to me," Peggy said, glancing back at Jefferson and Angelica, who in turn looked at each other.

"I have no idea what that says, blow the font up, Pegs," Jefferson told them, moving to stand up, "Or at least let me get my glasses. Where's my cane?" Peggy gave him an incredulous look.

"You're legit thirty, dude, you sound like a ninety year old grandpa," they said in an appalled tone, shaking their head as they looked back at their computer. "I'll just read it, don't get up. Ready? George-o can you hear me?"

" _I'm on speaker, Mx. Schuyler, of course I can hear you. Don't call me George-o,_ " responded Washington's voice from over the phone. " _And please tell me before you start whether or not this is legal._ " Peggy pulled a face and shrugged, letting out a long, high pitched noise. " _Peggy._ "

"No, it's not legal. I may or may not have hacked it out of City Hall's email records. Is that a problem? You've never had a problem with it before," they said, looking curiously at the phone in Jefferson's hand.

" _Of course I don't have a problem. It just means we'll have to improvise a bit. Go on, Mx. Schuyler, I'm waiting,_ " he said, and the three could all hear the smile on his face. Peggy sat up straighter, eyes going to the top of the computer screen as they cleared their throat.

"Here we go. Good morning, Doctor Franklin-"

 

* * *

 

"-I hope your day is going well. However, I've received word that you started an affair with yet another one of our female workers. This is absolutely unacceptable behavior, especially after the warnings you've received in the past. Unless you can deny that this is the case, I'm going to have to ask that you step down from your position on the city council until you can prove yourself to be more competent. If you do not do so, I will be forced to take drastic measures," Washington read from a piece of paper to a shocked jury. "You did write this email, did you not, Mr. Church?"

Dr. Laurens stood up and, to no one's surprise, slammed his hands down on the table. "Your Honor, this email was not part of the discovery file!" he shouted, and Judge Ross looked down at Washington with shock on her face.

"Mr. Washington, is this true?" she demanded, and Washington looked at her with innocent confusion, tilting his head.

"Well I assume it is. Though my associate is more familiar with case paperwork and what not," he said, turning toward their table with a pointed look at Jefferson. "Thomas, care to explain?"

Jefferson stood up, brushing off his lap and clearing his throat. "It was printed with the rest of the file the- um- that Mr. Seabury's previous lawyer gave us, your Honor. I just- I assumed it was part of the discovery file," he explained, sounding much less confident than anyone in the class had heard before.

"It wasn't, which means you obtained it illegally! Which means you should be  _prosecuted!_ " Dr. Laurens hissed from where he stood, and Jefferson gave Judge Ross a terrified look, flinching every time the prosecution spoke.

"M- may I sit down, your Honor?" he asked in a quiet voice, and she waved him off, letting him take his seat once again.

"You may. Mr. Church, did you write this email?" she asked the witness, who shifted uncomfortably on the stand.  _Got him now,_  Alex laughed in his head,  _damn have we got him._ "Mr. Church?"

"Yes, your Honor, I wrote the email," he said quickly. The jury began to murmur once again, silenced only when Judge Ross shot them a deadly glare.

"Well then," she shrugged, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, "I have to side with the defense here, Doctor Laurens. Please sit down. The email's admissible, continue."

"Your Honor!"

"That's  _enough_ , Doctor," she told him sternly, and he shut up, sitting back down with a glare at Washington. "I've made my decision. Washington, please continue."

Smiling at Doctor Laurens, Washington walked toward the stand once again, hands folded neatly behind his back. "Mr. Church, in your email, you were rather angry with Doctor Franklin, were you not?"

"Yes. I was frustrated," Mr. Church agreed, glancing nervously toward Dr. Laurens.

"Right. Were you perhaps frustrated enough to slip a carbamazepine pill into Doctor Franklin's tea before it was given to him?" Washington asked, and Doctor Laurens sprung to his feet.

"Objecti-"

"Withdrawn, Henry, don't get your pants in a twist. No further questions," Washington cut him off, smirking as he walked back to the defense table. The jury seemed to be swinging toward their side, based on their murmurs.

Alex grinned.

 

* * *

 

The students who decided to come to the trial again, now dwindling in numbers, followed after Washington as he walked out of the courthouse, arguing with a nearly-in-tears Thomas Jefferson. "Sir can you  _warn me_  before you make me talk!? Give me time to prepare!? I am  _literally_  going to die right now, sir, I am  _literally_  having an anxiety attack," Jefferson hissed, and Alex pulled a face in Eliza's direction, mouthing ' _awkward_ '.

It only earned him a vague glare.

"You're  _literally_ fine, Thomas. And I had no choice but to put you on the spot, we couldn't let our answer seem rehearsed. Go get some water, take a deep breath, meet up with me when you've calmed your ass down," Washington told him, and Jefferson grumbled something at him before walking away, closely followed by Angelica.

Washington turned to walk backwards in front of his students. "Dig deep, everyone. George Frederick is going on the stand tomorrow and we need him to admit something that'll clear Mr. Seabury for good. I don't care what it is."

"Sir, do you know how many more days the trial's going to last?" asked a voice from next to Alex, and he turned his head slightly, seeing a young woman in red lipstick clicking along in red heels.  _She's really got the color coordination down,_  he observed. Even her  _dress_  was red. "My other professors are kind of pissed that I've missed legit all of their classes."

"Not my problem, Miss Reynolds," Washington shrugged, spinning on his heel as he reached the doors of the courthouse. "If anyone finds anything useful, or just wants to try and improve their chances of getting into my firm, I'll be at Dean Von Steuban's cocktail party."

 

* * *

 

_"Jesus christ, this is heavier than I remember it being," Mulligan breathed through clenched teeth as they lugged the Ikea bag down the hill into the woods. "Laurens, could you please pull your own weight!?"_

_"I'm doing just as much work as you are, if anybody's slacking it's Madison!" Laurens snapped back, almost slipping over a pile of snowy leaves. "Can we just get this over with please!? I want to go the fuck home and forget this shit mess ever happened!"_

_They all jumped in shock when Madison's phone started ringing again, this time the tune being met with relief instead of fear. "Answer it!" Alex snapped, and Madison gave him a look of 'no shit' before accepting the call and dropping his handle of the bag. This made everyone stumble forward several paces under the sudden weight._

_"Thomas?" Madison asked in a shaky voice, running a hand over his short-cropped hair. "I'm so sorry, I didn't hear your calls. What?"_

_He paused for a long moment, eyes growing wide as he shot a look at the rest of the group. "N- no. I haven't seen your cane. Why are you asking?"_

_Another pause, and he let out a breath of air._

_"Oh."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes the shady business has begun
> 
> and just for clarification:  
> robbyshurt - robert shurtleff  
> LARGEBAGUETTE - lafayette  
> southernhems - sally hemmings  
> lizzyschuyler - eliza


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uahglkjdfhlkjh you are all so good to me and u give me sweet reviews and nice messages on tumgle.hell and what do i do in return? i abandon this fic for months and then give u a shit update!   
> seriously tho i love every single one of you that reviewed and messaged me and everything it really means so much!! even when i'm The Worst!

"I'll see you at the party then?"

James shifted, shrugging and trying to sink back into his black turtleneck. Maria was still staring him down expectantly, a smile spread across her red lips. _Oh, fuck, she actually wants me to come..._ "I don't know, I'm... I'm not exactly the _party_ sort. I have issues with crowds, and..."

"That's okay, if you don't want to come, it's not like I'm gonna force you or anything. I just wanted someone to hang out with, that's all," she said, smile still on her face, "And you're cool. Most guys I talk to are hitting on me. Don't stop staring at the girls until I whip out my diamond. That shuts them up fast."

"Diamond?" James asked, confused, and she showed him an expensive looking diamond ring on her finger, "Oh! You're _married?_ I had no clue!"

Maria scoffed, rolling her eyes and putting her hand on her hip. "Yeah. I don't think my husband does either. But whatever," she tried to put her cheerful smile back on, but had clearly ruined her own mood. "Well I should get going. Betsey's my ride home, and she's been waiting outside for like seventy years. See you! We should hang out some time!"

She was gone before James could say so much as goodbye. He stood staring into nothingness for a good minute, hearing the dull background noise of the clumps of people walking the halls, until one voice struck him as familiar. "I'll be in the bathroom, sir." Whoever it was sounded British. "Just a moment, sir, I swear."

Out of the corner of his eye, James noticed that whoever had been talking was slightly down the hall and was standing next to Doctor Benjamin Franklin, who was seated in a wheelchair. Making a hasty decision, James, who was closer to the bathroom than the man who had spoken, pushed through the men's room door and into one of the stalls, locking it and climbing on top of the toilet seat so his feet wouldn't be seen.

One set of shoes entered first, polished and shining and black, stopping in front of where the mirrors were. James leaned forward and braced his hands around the door, peering out through the crack. There he was. George Frederick. _You're in here for nothing, Madison, stop spying on your witnesses._ James couldn't help but notice Frederick was much taller in person than in the pictures they had seen.

Then again... _everyone_ looks taller in person to him.

Frederick stood there for a while, combing his hair and brushing powder all over his face, until a second pair of shoes clicked into the room. These belonged to Samuel Seabury. James watched for another minute, waiting as if something was going to happen, until Frederick started putting on chapstick and talking. "You're going to be fine," he said plainly, and James' heart almost started racing as Seabury stepped away from the mirrors and glanced under the stalls to see if there was anyone else in the room.

When he was satisfied that they were alone, he stood back up and straightened out his tweed jacket. "Washington is good. He's not _that_ good. I'm still fucked," he responded in a more hushed tone. Frederick let out a half-laugh. "What are you laughing about? _I could go to jail for this._ "

"I'm _laughing_ because you _aren't_ going to go to jail. Sam please, you mustn't worry about this. Mrs. Franklin and I have it all under control."

James had to stifle a gasp, eyes going wide. _Mrs. Franklin? Councilman Franklin's wife!?_ His mind raced back to the day they spoke to the woman, her hateful words against Seabury echoing in his ears. _She's the one that wants him prosecuted, doesn't she? What the hell is going on?_

And then Frederick was pressing a kiss to Seabury's temple, picking up his bag, and leaving the room. Seabury left soon after, and James waited in the stall until he was sure both of them had to be out of the building. He climbed off the toilet seat and pulled open the door with shaking hands, only one thought in his head.

_I have to tell Washington._

 

* * *

 

Alex arrived at Dean Von Steuban's cocktail party about an hour after it started, checking his phone as he walked into the banquet hall.

The entire room was lit up with a warm yellowish glow, and he realized when he walked in exactly how underdressed he was. _Fucking flannel, I can't believe this shit,_ he thought as he saw Maria Reynolds in a floor length red evening gown chatting with Eliza, who was in a silky looking blue pantsuit. Both were holding long glasses full of alcohol. And they looked like god damned princesses.

As he moved across the room, eyes still trained on the screen of his phone, Alex bumped shoulders with several people, finally putting the device in his back pocket when he walked directly into someone's back. "I'm so sorry," he began to say, looking up with his hands raised, but stopped when Lafayette spun around, wearing their ever present smile. "Oh! Hi, Lafayette."

"Bonjour, Alexander, it is excellent to see you here as always," they grinned, leaning over and giving him a kiss on either cheek. As they pulled away from him, Alex's eyes caught on the shimmering purple cocktail dress clinging to their hips under a black jacket. _Wow. They look stunning._ "Have you been here long? I had not seen you until now."

Their voice jarred Alex out of his admiring of their curves, and he shook his head quickly. "Um, no. I just got here, actually. Is Madison here?" he asked, glancing around the room. Lafayette also gave a once over of the crowd before shrugging and muttering something in French that Alex didn't manage to catch.

"I can send him a text if you wish, tell him you are wanting to see him," they suggested, much to Alex's horror.

"No, no! Please don't do that. I just wanna... you know, purposely accidentally run into him," he explained, and Lafayette let out a laugh that might've made Alex swoon. "And do you know where the bathroom is? I've had to pee for like a half an hour."

Lafayette spun on their heel and pointed a finger, almost smacking someone in the head, toward the back wall where several people were standing around. "That door goes into the hallway and I believe the men's room is the first door to the left. Cannot remember, you might want to check," they said, and Alex followed where they were pointing with his eyes, nodding to himself.

"Got it. Thanks," he smiled, clapping them on the shoulder as he headed off toward the bathroom. "You look amazing, by the way!"

"Merci, Alexander!" they called from behind him, and Alex pushed through the door they had directed him to into a hallway. It was empty, save for two bathroom doors and a water fountain, and Alex stood with his back to the door for a long, confused moment.

_First door on the left, right,_ he recalled, and shoved his way in without bothering to look at the sign outside the door.

And he knocked right into a woman.

This was not the men's room.

"Shit!" he shouted, jumping back and making a move to scramble out of the room. The woman who he had run into hopped up and down for a moment in an attempt to twist around, swearing profusely as another woman emerged from underneath her dress, eyes wide and dark curls spilling out over the shoulders of her pink- " _Miss Schuyler!?_ "

"Alexander!" Angelica gasped, suddenly more flustered. She was stammering as she smoothed out the front of her dress, eyes pinning Alex to his mortified place by the door. "I- you- why are you _in here!?_ "

"I went through the wrong door, I'm so sorry!" he tried to explain, eyes shooting between the woman in the black dress back to Angelica in terror. "I was- I did _not_ mean to come in here, I am _so_ sorry, I- _god_ this probably seems so _creepy_ , I'm _sorry-_ "

" _God_ , if you tell _anyone_ about this-" Angelica began to threaten, but the other woman put a hand out to stop her from advancing on the young man. "Sorry. Alexander- _please._ This can't leave the bathroom. I swear to god. Get out. Go."

"Angelica, calm down," the woman said, before turning back to Alex. "He won't tell anyone."

"No, of course not! I wouldn't- I don't just go around outing people, it's none of my business who you want to eat out!" Alex rambled, and halfway through he slammed a hand over his mouth. "That came out _so_ wrong, I just meant- I won't- I'm not gonna-"

"Just _get out,_ Alexander," Angelica sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head.

Mouth still hanging open, Alex nodded quickly and turned around, leaving the bathroom with no doubt an awful flush all over his face.

He could understand her embarrassment for being caught under another woman's dress - Alex can't even count the times he's been walked in on while giving a guy a blowjob - but for some reason he got the feeling that wasn't why she wanted to keep it a secret. _None of your business,_ he told himself, walking down the hall, _none of your damn business. Forget it._

After using the correct bathroom and trying to push the earlier events out of his mind, Alex left the hall back into the party room, making a beeline for Professor Washington. He was in a small group of people made up of Maria, Eliza, Lafayette, and Burr, who was talking very animatedly with a glass of champagne in his hand.

"...she was an absolute genius, you know? My aunt always said that's how I got into Princeton so easy. Course... I wanted to follow in my old man's footsteps, so Middleton was the obvious choice," Aaron was saying; he sounded almost like he was advertising himself. Washington gave him a seemingly bored nod, sipping the champagne and making a noise when he caught sight of Alex.

"Alexander!" he smiled, clapping the younger man on the shoulder, "I was wondering if you were going to come. I'd spoken to Lafayette and he said that he-"

" _They,_ " interrupted Eliza, Maria, and Alex almost simultaneously. It earned the three of them an odd look from the Professor.

"I'm sorry?" Washington asked with a tilt of the head. Alex could see Lafayette's face darken, the look in their eyes almost desperate to change the topic. _Not now, please, not now. Not before he picks who is to work at his law firm,_ they seemed to scream. Alex felt a twang of sympathy. "What does 'they' mean?"

"It's- ah- it is..." Lafayette began, running their tongue across their lower lip; an obviously nervous action. All eyes were trained on them, a spotlight of expectation, "I- we, ah. We corresponded by email before classes, but I- it was of course much easier to- to explain over email... mon dieu, I- I should leave," their voice trailed off, and they tried to dash away from the small group, only to be stopped by the Professor's strong hand on their shoulder.

Alex's eyes flew to Washington's face, only to see a genuinely apologetic look there. "I'm sorry, Lafayette, I completely forgot about our email correspondence. They is your... your _pronouns_ , correct?" he asked, and Lafayette nodded, giving the Professor a grateful smile. "I'll try not to let it happen again. Now, as I was saying, Alexander. I spoke to Lafayette earlier and _they_ said they hadn't seen you yet."

Trailing his gaze away from the gleeful glint in Lafayette's eyes, Alex nodded at the Professor. "Just got here a few minutes ago," he agreed, suddenly remembering what he witnessed in the women's bathroom. "Haven't really done much yet. Just went to the bathroom to pee, really." _Smooth, Alex. That is exactly what your law professor wants to hear._

A clicking of heels drew his attention to the form of a woman approaching their group, black dress clinging to her hips and dark hair falling over her shoulders in complex braids. _Oh no,_ Alex realized with a start, _it's the woman from the bathroom._ Heart hammering, he tried to give her a friendly smile as she came to a stop next to the Professor. _Keep it cool, keep it cool._

"Evening," she greeted, nodding her head toward the other students, meeting Alex's eye for a split, terrifying second. "How are you all doing? Enjoying the cocktail party? Von Steuban really knows how to throw them, doesn't he?"

Washington was laughing, a strange sound to Alex's ears, coming from his usually stern law professor. "He certainly does, Martha, he certainly does. Have you all met the beautiful Mrs. Washington yet?" he asked, pressing a kiss onto the woman's jawline. _Mrs. Washington. Professor Washington. Washington. Oh Jesus Christ, she's his wife. His wife who is cheating on him with his coworker._

Alex's heart might have stopped.

 

* * *

 

_"N- no, I haven't seen your cane, why are you asking?" Madison asked, and everyone whipped their heads around to look at him, Ikea bag hitting the ground with a_ _thud. Madison was silent for a long while, and the others sent each other nervous glances, desperate to know what the man on the other line was saying. "Oh." The small word was like a bomb._

_"What's he saying, man!?" John snapped, eyes flaring with rage, and Eliza slapped him across the arm with a glare and a 'shush' motion. Madison sighed. Everyone's eyes were back on him._

_"No. Just use... I don't know, just use your spare. You don't really need it anyway, Thomas, your knee healed months ago. It just serves an aesthetic purpose," he said into the speaker. A breath that no one knew they were holding was released. "I'm not talking about this right now, I'm busy. With friends, yes. Um..." he glanced around at the others, licking his lips and pausing, "Yes. Of course I'm there. Where else would I be going with friends?"_

_"What're you telling him!?" Mulligan whispered, gentler than John had asked, but Madison just held up a finger that told him to wait._

_"Yes, in the bathroom," a pause, "Yes, of course. It's in my pocket," another pause, this time longer... "I... I love you too."_

_He hung up the phone and turned to the expectant figures huddling around the Ikea bag, taking a deep breath as he shoved the phone in his pocket. "I- um. I may have figured out our alibi."_

 

* * *

 

James was pounding as hard as he could on the stained glass door of Washington's law office, trying to see through the colorful glass for any movement.

Eventually, a figure opened the door with a confused look on their face, and James couldn't hide his aggravation when he saw a head of curly hair and a pair of reading glasses standing in front of him. "Oh," Jefferson said, looking surprised, "Hi James. What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Washington," James all but snapped, trying to stop himself from tapping his foot on the porch. "Like... I need to talk to him now."

Jefferson pursed his lips and shook his head, apologetic smile only half convincing. "He's at Dean Von Steuban's cocktail party tonight, remember? Anything _I_ could help you with?"

A sigh of annoyance escaped James' mouth. "No. It's about the case."

"Well I do work for him. Can I pass along a message?" he offered, leaning on the doorway in an obvious attempt to stop James from storming into the house. "Or I could give you a ride to the banquet hall so you can ask him."

"No, no, I can't be in big crowds of people like that," James grumbled, crossing his arms huffily over his chest, "Fine. Just- tell him that we were wrong about Seabury and he's actually guilty and him and Mrs. Franklin and George Frederick are all in on it together. That- that's what I wanted to tell him." When Jefferson gave him a blank look, James could feel himself starting to panic. "I- I know it sounds pretty stupid, I just- I overheard a conversation in the bathroom, it was Seabury and Frederick, and they were-"

James cut himself off, looking Jefferson up and down in a swift motion. His body language hadn't changed, expression still a relaxed neutral, just like it had been when he'd answered the door. "You..." James muttered, shaking his head in confusion, "You don't seem surprised."

It earned him a shrug. "Nope."

A jolt of something that might have been shock or betrayal shot through James' chest, his brow furrowing and mouth falling open. " _No_ ," he breathed, "You _assholes!_ You knew the whole time!? You knew we were defending a guilty man!? Why the hell are we defending him if he's _guilty!?_ He tried to _kill someone-_ "

"Welcome to the world of the law, James," Jefferson said with another casual shrug.

James felt sick to his stomach. "That's- that's so _wrong,_ " he almost whimpered, feeling tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. _Damn me and my fucking emotions,_ he thought to himself as he jerked a hand up to wipe them away.

"Kid, you're in _law school._ You do understand that lawyers aren't here to do the right thing, right? They're here to protect their client. Sometimes that client just... isn't a good person," his eyes flickered away from James' for a split second, as if the words had some sort of deeper meaning to him. But if they did, James didn't know what it was. Finally, Jefferson sighed. "Look, do you want to come in for some coffee or whatever? I'm just finishing filing Washington's papers, and he wants them done by the time he gets home. So I can't really stay out here to talk."

"No," James said shortly, clenching his hands into fists under the sleeves of his dark sweater, "I really should be getting home."

 

* * *

 

 

The entire walk home had Alex on edge.

He felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin, never ending thoughts of Washington's wife's affair with his own law partner swarming his head and making him dizzy. His hands couldn't keep still; they were being shoved into his pockets or fiddling with his phone or scratching at the skin on the back of his knuckles, only stopping for a second when he felt blood on his fingertips.

_What the hell am I supposed to do!?_ He cried in his head, trying to focus on getting back to the apartment building, _God, I can't tell Washington! But how am I supposed to keep it a secret!?_

As he approached the entrance to his building, still feeling like his chest was going to explode, he gave a swift wave to James Madison, walking in the opposite direction on the other side of the street. It was odd, for this time of night, especially for someone like Madison. _Was he coming from the direction of Washington's place?_ Alex wondered briefly, forgetting about it as soon as he stepped through the front doors.

He was immediately very acutely aware of shouting from several floors up. _My floor._

It was all muffled and angry and loud - he couldn't make out most of the words - and he stood in shock for a long moment, staring upward, all thoughts of Angelica and Martha and Madison out of his mind. He jumped when a door seemed to slam open with what was probably enough force to put a hole in the wall. The screaming started getting more distinct, and Alex started up the stairs.

"Don't _bullshit me_ I _swear_ -" he heard someone bellow, pure rage seeping out of the voice. As he neared the floor that his apartment was on, it became clear that the shouting was coming from John Laurens' apartment. Alex kept walking.

"This is about _both of us-_ " Laurens was screaming, obvious sobs in his voice, "Dammit _listen-_ " the sound of something hitting the ground and a broken cry, "Fucking- _get out!_ Get out right now, _god fucking-_ "

Alex had just stepped onto the landing when he was shoved to the side by a large man in a football jersey, who he recognized at the last second was Hercules Mulligan. When he peeled his eyes away from Mulligan's retreating figure, he saw John on his knees in the doorway of his apartment, a box shattered on the ground with various objects spilled around it.

And he was crying.

"John?" Alex asked, taking several steps toward the doorway, trying to be as gentle as possible. John's head snapped up, a look of fear in his red eyes as he scrambled to shove all the fallen objects behind him. "Are you okay? Do you need any help with that?"

He shook his head quickly, several tears streaking down his face, "No," he said through clenched teeth, "I'm fine. I can- I can take care of it. Sorry about all the yelling, me and Hercules... we just- we had a little fight."

"No offense, but nothing about that fight seemed very _little,_ " Alex responded, and John chuckled slightly. "Are you sure you don't need any help? That box looks pretty broken."

John sighed, a small, sad sigh. "I'm really fine, Alex. It's okay. You can go."

Alex hesitated as John pushed himself up to a leaned over position and began to put the objects back into the destroyed box, shirt scrunching up and revealing his bare, freckled back. And his eyes narrowed. "Shit, John, what happened to your back?" he asked, making the man stand up quickly with his eyes wide. "You've got _scratch marks,_ those look _really bad-_ "

"I'm fine!" his voice was harsh this time, jaw clenched tight.

"Are you okay? Did something happen? Did-"

"I _said_ I'm _fine!_ " John all but screamed, and the next thing Alex knew, the door was slammed in his face. It took him a long while to process what had happened, staring at the door with a blank, confused expression, until he finally managed to tear his eyes away and head into his apartment.

His bed had never looked so inviting, and he crawled under the blanket without even bothering to take off his jeans. He was tired as shit. _And after everything that happened... I really just haven't had a great day, have I?_ The pang of harsh anxiety was back as Angelica and Martha made their way back into his mind, and he tried to push it away, focusing instead on the noises he could hear from where he was laying.

Unfortunately, one of those noises was the sound of John Laurens sobbing in the apartment next to him.

After a while, he couldn't take it anymore. Nothing was helping him fall asleep and he couldn't stop thinking about the affair and Madison's weird behavior and John's fight- He was switching on the television before he even knew his hand was on the remote.

" _The search continues for law student Charles Lee, who has been missing for three days now, after not returning to his campus dorm on September fifteenth. Police have been incapable of tracking his movements in the hours before he went missing, but they are still working hard to try and find him. Again, if you have any information regarding where this young man may be, we urge you to call the number at the bottom of the screen._ "


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow ok another one! thank u guys so much for all the comments and feedback and everything i literally scream every time i see someone comment so ilysm  
> this chapter is poop but the action will start happening soon i promise

The clicking of high heels across hardwood floors hit Thomas' ears, and he glanced up from his paperwork. Angelica was back.

"Hey Ang, you mind helping me sort through these papers? Washington wants them for tomorrow," he called over his shoulder, eyes still trained on the television, watching the news. There was an odd, long silence from the woman, and his brow furrowed. "Angelica?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm here," her voice came from the chair next to him, jacket bundled up in her arms and shoes abandoned beside her. "I'll help in just a minute."

Thomas turned, an eyebrow raised and an amused smile on his face. "Jeez, Angie, how hammered did you get?" he laughed, only earning Angelica's hard glare. He swallowed and changed the tone. "Sorry. Is everything okay?"

She paused for a long moment, mouth open, seeming like she was contemplating what to say. Then finally, she let out a sigh and her gaze dropped to the floor. "Yeah. Everything's fine. I've just had a rough day. You still want help with those papers?"

As she kneeled down next to him, he gave her a suspicious look, but decided to let the suspicious behavior slide. For now, anyway. Angelica pulled a large stack of papers out of one cardboard box, starting to rifle through them with expert hands. Thomas went back to his work, clipping notes to some pages and sticking post-its to others, the television serving as background noise.

" _The search continues for law student Charles Lee, who has been missing for three days now, after not returning to his campus dorm on September_ fifteenth," the blonde woman on the screen was saying, drawing a vague glance from Angelica.

"What do you think happened to him?" she asked, purple-printed paper shifting back and forth in her hands. "I didn't know him very well, he mostly worked with Washington outside the firm. Didn't seem like _that_ bad of a kid." Thomas couldn't hold back his scoff, and Angelica gave him an odd look. "What?"

"Kid was a great big bag of dicks, that's what he was. I wouldn't blame someone for offing him," he said bluntly, tossing the papers into another pile. He didn't even realize what he had said until he saw Angelica's flaming eyes locked on his head. "Okay, _what?_ "

"He's _missing_ , Thomas, not _dead._ "

" _If Lee was here, I'm sure he would- he would thank everyone for their support. I... want to thank you for your support. I just want to know where he is, what happened to him, if he's o- okay,_ " the young man on the television said, voice cracking on the last word. Thomas and Angelica both looked up, eyes narrowing as the missing poster flashed up yet again.

" _That was star quarterback Hercules Mulligan, who reported his roommate Charles Lee missing several days ago. Tomorrow he will be speaking at a candlelight vigil in honor of the missing student, and he asks that if you can attend that you do so. Once again,_ _if you have any information regarding where this young man may be, we urge you to call the number at the bottom of the screen. I'm Abigail Adams, and I-_ "

"You two had better be working while you entertain yourselves on that mind melting electronic box, or I'll shove my foot so far up your asses you won't shit for weeks."

Angelica and Thomas both half-screamed, jumping to turn the television off and stand up to greet Washington, who was looking rather stern and disappointed in the archway to the living room. "We were just- we _were_ working, we just wanted to-"

"Don't give me excuses, Thomas, just get back to whatever you were doing," Washington said, rolling his eyes and giving Martha an annoyed look. "I don't know how I put up with these buffoons."

"They're not so bad, dear," Martha laughed, and Angelica could feel herself stiffening when the woman gave her husband a slow kiss on the cheek. "Move that stuff to the table, you two, I don't want you throwing out your backs from slouching on the floor."

"Yes ma'am!" Thomas smiled, picking up the box of papers and his cane and somehow managing to give Martha a quick hug on his way past her. "How was NYU, by the way? Did they love you? I bet they loved you. You're incredible."

Martha laughed, leaning away from Angelica as the woman walked to the table. "Well, it went good, but nothing's really decided, don't worry about us moving just yet." She gave George another kiss, this time on the lips, and smiled at him gently. "I'm heading upstairs for bed. Goodnight, you two."

"Night Martha," Thomas called, waving at her from his seat at the table. Angelica couldn't bring herself to say anything, just giving a stiff nod and watching as she climbed the stairs.

 _What have I done?_ she thought to herself, looking back down at the papers in her hands and feeling her heart beginning to race, _oh my god what have I done?_

 

* * *

 

Alex was still laying in bed with the television on when Aaron came back to the room, sighing and throwing his stuff down at his desk without a single word.

He went through the nightly motions, still not speaking to Alex; brushed his teeth, washed his face, changed into pajamas, and finally laid down in bed with another loud sigh. Neither spoke for quite some time, the sounds of the news channel playing something about the weather in the background. At the bottom of the screen was the ever present scrolling banner telling everyone to ' _help find the missing student Charles Lee_ ' and ' _if you have any information please call this number blah blah blah_ '.

"Can you turn that off?" Aaron asked out of the blue, and Alex turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. But he didn't say anything in response - he could only imagine how excited Aaron was about that - and switched off the television. The room was suddenly dark, and Alex had to take a minute to let his eyes adjust.

Just as he did, and just as he was starting to drift off to sleep, he heard something being set down outside his door. He wouldn't have thought anything of it, but just a moment later he could hear John Laurens' apartment door being shut, and his curiosity got the better of him.

Fumbling around the headboard for where he'd set his phone, Alex groped his fingers across the wood blindly, stopping when he came to a rough spot near the top. He rubbed his thumb over the spot several more times, confusion growing stronger. _Are those... bite marks?_ He finally got ahold of his phone and turned the flashlight on, using it to illuminate the top of the headboard.

And he was right. There were bite marks and scratch marks all over the wall and headboard as if someone had either descended into a violent fit of rage and insanity or had some of the wildest sex in the universe.

He ran his hand along the marks several more times before standing up and opening the door. Just as he had expected, it was something from John Laurens. Alex leaned down and picked it up, inspecting the expensive looking whiskey bottle and reading over the post it note taped to the front. ' _Sorry I was a dick :-(_ ' it said, and underneath, in the same swirly handwriting, ' _J. Laurens_ '.

 

* * *

 

[robbyshurt]

-laf liz im so sorry im literally so sorry

-im gonna start crying im so sorry please dont hate me

-please respond im so sorry

[lizzyschuyler]

-rob calm down what is it?

[LARGEBAGUETTE]

-we will not be angry? what did you do?

[robbyshurt]

-i was at work and i was just

-this lawyer asked me if i could go over security tapes

-and i did and now im going on the stand and i didnt realize it until now but

-please dont kill me im literally so sorry

[lizzyschuyler]

-just tell us what happened, i promise we won't get mad

 

* * *

 

"So, Miss Shurtleff-"

" _Mr._ Shurtleff, if you don't mind, sir."

Dr. Laurens' sneer couldn't be hidden from anyone in the room, but he continued anyway. "Right. _Mr._ Shurtleff, let me get this straight. You got this security footage from the hospital... _when_ exactly?"

Robert shifted in his chair, glancing down to make apologetic eye contact with Eliza and Lafayette. Then he cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "I got it last night, sir, someone at the hospital said they recognized Seabury on the news and asked me to pull up the security footage and... and I did."

"Footage that I will now present to the jury, if I may, Your Honor," Dr. Laurens smirked, turning his back to Robert and gesturing a remote at a large television screen beside him. Judge Ross gave him approval and he turned it on, revealing a video of Seabury speaking to someone just out of the picture and taking a plastic bag with white tablets inside. Several members of the jury gasped, and Dr. Laurens paused the video.

"There," he said, pointing harshly at the bag and zooming in on it with the remote, "The _night before the attempted murder,_ as you can see from the _time stamp_ on the left hand corner of the screen, the defendant was making an _illegal exchange_ in the hospital for something that looks _suspiciously alike_ to carbamazapine tablets." Now there was definite murmuring in the jury. "I have nothing more to say, Your Honor. Washington, your witness."

Alex could see Washington putting a hand to his temple as Seabury shrank back in his chair. _We're so fucked, oh my god we're so fucked._

"Your Honor?" Professor Washington asked, glaring over at Dr. Laurens, who was giving him a coy smile, "May I request a brief recess before we move on?"

 

* * *

 

"I _told you_ to tell us _everything!_ " Washington bellowed, slamming his hands down on the desk. Seabury physically flinched backwards. "Tell us what you needed destroyed, text messages, emails, phone calls, god damn _security footage,_ what bodies to bury and what do you do!?"

"I didn't tell you-"

"You didn't _tell me!_ " he flung his arms in the air, pacing back and forth with his teeth clenched, "You didn't _fucking_ tell me and if I cant get you out of this fucking mess, you're going to go to _jail_ , and I'm going to be the _shitty lawyer that put you there!_ "

"It wasn't _importan-_ "

Washington whirled on him, fire in his eyes. "It wasn't _important!?_ Every god damned detail is important! How on _earth_ did you think you were going to get away with _killing_ someone if you don't even hide evidence of you interacting _directly_ with the murder weapon!? What sort of fucking idiot doesn't tell their _defense lawyer_ this shit!? Angelica, if you killed someone would you help me cover it up as best as you could?"

Angelica glanced up, throwing a look at Seabury's shrinking form. "Yep. It is your job."

"It's my _job!_ My god damned _job_ to cover it up for you! Get out! I can't think with your stupid face in here." When Seabury didn't move, Washington snarled. "Go! Get the _hell_ out!"

The meek looking man scrambled out of the office with a terrified look on his face, passing Angelica and Thomas on the way out and slamming the door behind him. Washington stood in silence for a long moment, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Then Angelica broke the silence. "You convinced the jury, Washington, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

" _Thomas,_ " Washington growled, ignoring Angelica's comment, "I told you to find _everything_ there was to find out. _How the hell_ did this slip past you!?"

"Hey, I _grilled_ Seabury when we took the case! He just flat out _chose_ not to tell me about it for _some reason_ or another, I didn't-" Thomas tried to argue, but stopped when he saw Washington's glare. "Right. Sorry. It won't happen again, sir."

"Both of you, _out._ I need to get this shit fixed for good."

Angelica gave him an odd look. "Sir, we can help you-"

"No," he snapped, pointing toward the door with a sneer, "You can get me a venti chai tea latte with a triple shot and then collect your paycheck when the case is done. _Go._ "

 

* * *

 

"I'd like to call our final witness, George Frederick, to the stand," Washington announced, straightening the bottom of his suit jacket as he stood in front of the judge.

Alex almost jumped when the man next to him stood up and swaggered to the front of the room, swearing in and taking a seat. "Can we please make this quick, Washington, I have a shift soon and I'd rather not waste my time here when I could be studying," Frederick said with a fake smile as soon as he sat down, earning an eyeroll from the professor. Madison was making a face from two seats over, almost like he was going to throw up.

"Mister Frederick, do you recognize this video footage?" he asked, clicking a remote and replaying the same footage of his exchange with Seabury at the hospital. Frederick nodded, not giving any other answer. It was almost like he was... _bored._ "And can you explain to me what was going on in this video?"

"Objection!" Dr. Laurens screeched, slamming his hand down on the table and standing up. Judge Ross could barely disguise her annoyance, "Relevance?"

"Dr. Laurens, sit down. Overruled. Continue, Washington, please."

Washington smiled at her and nodded, gesturing to Frederick. The man smiled again, almost like his teeth were glued shut like that, and Alex could see that his fingers were digging into his knees. "I was giving Sam- ahem- _your client_ a month's worth of carbamazapine tablets. I give them to him each month," he said. The jury was mumbling now.

"Now, why is it that you were giving these to him? Surely it wasn't for any malicious purposes? Perhaps to kill Doctor Franklin?" Washington asked, raising an eyebrow as if he was expecting the answer to be yes. Alex was confused. This didn't seem like a good way to phrase the question if he wanted the jury to believe their client was innocent. And when he looked back over at their witness, Frederick's smile had disappeared, and he was now glaring at the professor. _H_ _ard_.

"Well since you're his _lawyer_ , _Mister Washington,_ " he spat the last two words like they tasted bad, "I'm _sure_ you're _aware_ of the fact that Samuel was _beaten brutally_ by one of Doctor Franklin's coworkers _in the workplace_ , and has been suffering seizures ever _since._ "

Loud, shocked murmurs began to surface, the same as they had the first time the jury had heard this information. Judge Ross banged her mallet down several times. "Order, order!"

"I am aware of this, Mr. Frederick," Washington said, clasping his hands behind his back, "But it still makes no sense to me that you were giving him this medication off the records and in secret. Shouldn't he have been able to get them from his own doctor? Even if the attack was covered up, surely he could afford _legal_ medication."

"Ha!" Alex almost jumped when Frederick let out the curt laugh, smiling through angry clenched teeth, "You're an absolutely _shitty_ lawyer, Washington! Sam can't afford _rent_ let alone something as expensive as _carbamazapine!_ Do you have any idea how much medical treatment _costs_ in this damned country!? I've been giving it to him under the table since Doctor Franklin's cover up disallowed him from receiving compensation for his injuries! Is that _satisfactory,_ you _twat?_ "

Alex had never heard the courtroom so silent. He looked around, seeing the shocked faces of the jury, Washington's sly smirk, Dr. Laurens' face lit up with rage. Frederick was still glaring daggers at the professor, leaned so far forward in his chair that he was only barely sitting on the edge. Washington cleared his throat, smiling. "Quite so. Now, you give my client a very limited amount, correct? Only enough to last him the month. If he wasted any it could be a danger to his life."

"That's correct," Frederick agreed, "If he doesn't take it in the morning he could wind up hospitalized by noon."

Washington nodded, tilting his head, "Right. One more question. What were you doing at the time the murder occurred?"

Dr. Laurens slammed his hands down again, jumping to his feet. Even some members of the jury rolled their eyes. "Objection, Your Honor! Unfounded!"

"I think I have to agree with Henry on this one," Judge Ross said, looking in confusion at Washington. She raised her mallet to bang on the desk, "Sustained. Rephrase the question."

"Of course," Washington agreed, bouncing slightly on his feet, "Mister Frederick, were you with my client at the time he was allegedly attempting to kill Doctor Franklin?"

Frederick cleared his throat, suddenly very obviously uncomfortable. He glanced down at where Seabury was sitting, and seemed to be debating whether or not he should answer truthfully. It went on for a bit too long. "Please answer the question, Mr. Frederick. Where were you when the murder occurred? It's simple," Washington repeated, one eyebrow raised.

"Fine," Frederick hissed, teeth back to their clenched position, "I was... I was in the break room at the hospital. My shift didn't start for another ten minutes, and Samuel had come over to visit me while he was making Doctor Franklin's daily tea run."

"Right, and can anyone attest to that? Other than my client, of course," Washington asked curiously. Alex glanced at Madison, who appeared to be shaking. Almost like he knew where this was heading.

Frederick took a deep breath and dug his nails into his knees. "Yes. Robert Shurtleff, the security detail from the hospital who spoke earlier. He stopped by the break room around the same time," he said, sounding cautious. "I know he's right over there, if you care to ask him about it."

"You don't have to come up to the stand, Mr. Shurtleff, it's alright," Judge Ross said as Robert tried to make his way back over to the witness stand. "Washington, please ask him for a statement."

"Mr. Shurtleff, did you indeed see my client and Mister Frederick together in the break room at the time of the attempted murder?" Washington asked, smiling at the young man standing in front of his chair.

"Yes, sir. I did," he answered, much more casually than he had with his previous statements, "The two were all over each other, I don't think Seabury would have much time to get back to kill someone with where they looked like they were going."

Murmurs from the jury sprouted up as Washington gave him a confused look, turning back to the witness stand. "Sorry, could you perhaps clarify what he meant by that, Mister Frederick? I don't want the jury to assume anything... _heinous_."

Frederick had gone visibly pale, eyes flickering over to someone several rows behind where the students were sitting. Alex looked back; Councilman Frederick was seated with a stern glare on his face directed at his son. "Samuel is my boyfriend. We were-" he swallowed thickly, clenching his eyes shut as if he were trying to stop himself from crying, "We were... _hooking up_ as they say, at the time of the attempted murd-"

"This is an _outrage_!"

Alex wasn't surprised that it was Councliman Frederick who had stood up. The jury's heads all whipped around to look at him, eyes wide with surprise. "No son of _mine_ is going to be like that! George what is the _matter_ with you!?" he screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the younger man on the stand. In such close proximity, Alex was only just now realizing how alike they looked.

"Father, I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, but-"

"Your mother and I didn't _raise you like this!_ " the Councilman continued to rampage, beginning to grow red in the face. The jury was looking back and forth as if watching a tennis match, and the younger Frederick had begun to cry. "We didn't raise a fucking fairy! That's it, I'm cutting your college funds, you're paying for yourself now!"

"Father, no, please, I'm so sorry-" he was flat out sobbing now, voice cracking and tears streaking down his face. "Please, I love you father, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Alex noticed several of the middle aged women in the jury glancing at each other with sympathetic looks on their faces. " _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-_ "

"Stop apologizing, you piece of shit!" Councilman Frederick screeched, only serving to make his son cry even more, "You're an absolute _disgrace_ to the family! Stop crying! You're not a fucking baby, you can't handle the truth then maybe you should-"

Judge Ross had finally had enough, and she slammed her mallet down. " _Councilman Frederick,_ sit down! You're here as an _observer!_ " she bellowed, making the room fall silent once again. "Security, please escort him out. This sort of behavior is _not_ tolerated in the courtroom, nor should it be tolerated _anywhere else._ "

Fuming, Councilman Frederick was taken out of the courtroom by two security guards, shooting glares over his shoulder at his son while he left. Once the doors had closed, Judge Ross looked over at the witness stand, where George Frederick was still sitting with shaking shoulders and staggered breaths. It was a pitiful sight to see. "Mister Frederick," Judge Ross began softly, folding her hands quietly on her desk, "If you'd like to take a brief leave, you will not be penalized."

"N- no, I can finish testifying," he managed, voice crackling pitifully.

Washington put a gentle hand on the banister in front of him, shaking his head, "Son, I'm so terribly sorry you had to go through that. No one should ever be punished for who they love."

There were several nods from the members of the jury. Washington's face softened even further; Alex didn't think he'd ever seen the professor look that kind. "Do the other members of City Council hold similar beliefs to your father?" he asked, just loud enough for the room to hear. Frederick nodded, bringing his sleeve up to wipe at his eyes. 

"Why do you think Samuel's attack flew under the radar so easily?" he asked, letting out a weak, humorless chuckle, "They're a bunch of homophobic  _bigots_ at City Hall, that's what they are. It's no surprise they're accusing Samuel of murder."

"Thank you," Professor Washington said, looking back up at Judge Ross, "No further questions, Your Honor."

 

* * *

 

"Justice has prevailed today in Philadelphia, and Samuel Seabury has been freed of all charges pressed against him. He is a _victim_ here, _scapegoated_ by a blatantly homophobic system for a crime he didn't commit. While the true perpetrator of this crime has not yet been brought to light, Mr. Seabury is and always has been innocent," Washington smiled at all the cameras and flashing lights that were being shoved in his face, "And I'm so very glad the jury agreed."

The sound of a car door shutting drew James' attention away from Washington, and he glanced over his shoulder. His heart started racing.

Councilman Frederick and Mrs. Franklin were both standing by a car, speaking in hushed tones to each other. The woman looked up, and James followed her line of vision to where Seabury was standing on the steps, the two of them making eye contact for a brief second. George Frederick, eyes still red and blotchy from his crying in the courtroom, was tapping away at his phone. The moment he looked up, Councilman Frederick looked down at his own phone, scanning his eyes over the screen for a moment before offering a sly wink to his son.

James felt sick to his stomach.

"Wow," he heard Alex say from beside him, and when he looked over, the young man was standing with his hands clasped together like an excited child, staring at Washington, "I want to _be_ him."

 

* * *

 

The lecture hall was packed, as always, ripe with anticipation of the students as their professor entered the room. Angelica and Jefferson followed closely behind, looking as stylish and collected as ever, and Washington planted himself in the center of the floor space. "The moment you've all been waiting for," he said, smiling, "Time to find out who's going to be joining me at my firm."

"You have a spot, Alexander, I _know_ you have a spot," Lafayette whispered from behind Alex. He hoped to god they were right.

"First," Washington began, pacing toward the left side of the room, "The standout in the class, and the one you should all make it your goal to destroy..." he stopped in front of the students, staring at him expectantly, "Miss Elizabeth Schuyler. Come stand up here with me, if you don't mind."

Hesitant clapping rang out through the hall as Eliza stood up, smoothing out her blue dress shirt and making her way down the aisle to stand beside Washington. He clapped her on the shoulder and turned back to the students. "The others joining us will be Mister Aaron Burr-"

"Yes!" Everyone turned to see Aaron standing up, looking all too excited. When he noticed the awkward stares, he settled down and bit the inside of his mouth, moving down to stand next to Eliza.

"Lafayette."

They looked surprised, eyes going wide and bored expression melting off their face into pure shock. They pointed briefly at themself, staring at Washington as if they really couldn't believe it. Washington nodded, and they stood up to join him in the front of the room.

"James Madison."

Alex heard James let out a relieved breath as his name was called, putting a hand over his chest, "Oh thank _god._ "

"And last, but certainly not least, the fifth student who will be joining us..." Angelica and Jefferson were making suspicious eye contact as Washington spoke; the woman almost looked _guilty._ "Alexander Hamilton."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is super short but i thought since this was a really big plot point it deserved it's own separate chapter

_Ribbons were being thrown through the air, which reeked of beer and sweat and smoke._

_There was yelling, screaming, laughing; all the sounds were mixing together with the sound of the band's instruments into a loud roar, drowning out any conversations that might be happening at a normal volume. Light from phones and glow sticks and lighters shone out in the crowd, illuminated by the bonfire at the center of their congregation._

_A cheerleader was flipped into the air, landing back in the arms of her friends with a laugh. A football helmet was thrown, nearly missing a shirtless man throwing another roll of streamers through the crowd. Dancing, dancing, dancing and screaming. Everyone was drinking, laughing - some lucky few were sneaking off to have sex._

_In short, it was a very exciting night._

_But away from the bonfire, miles off campus, down a hill and in the woods, there were five figures clustered around a busted up Ikea bag. "We have to be quick," Alex said, and Eliza fumbled in her jacket for her lighter, "Lafayette, you have the fluid, right?"_

_They held up the red jug with a grim look on their face, nodding. "We need sticks. Madison, Mulligan, start piling them up over the bag," Eliza ordered. The two walked off silently, beginning to gather up whatever dry wood they could find, tossing it on top of the body in the bag. “Alex, come here for a second.”_

_He crossed to stand next to her, and though they strained their ears, the others couldn’t understand what she was whispering to him._

_Whatever it was, he seemed to be disturbed by it, walking back to where he had been standing before and stuffing his hands in his pockets. No one had ever seen him so quiet. “That’s enough wood, guys,” he finally said as Mulligan dropped another stick on the body. His voice sounded strained. “What are we gonna do once it’s gone?”_

_“Well it’s not gonna get rid of the whole thing,” Eliza interjected, flicking her lighter on and off; a nervous tick. “We’ll have to… I don’t know, cut it up and take it to an incinerator or something. Car compactor. Get rid of it for good.”_

_Lafayette made a small whimpering noise and shut their eyes tight, muttering something to themself in French. “Can we please hurry up and finish this? Please?” they asked, and John nodded, rubbing his hands together to try and keep them warm._

_“They’re right, the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can-“ he paused, pursing his lips, “Well I guess we ain’t exactly gonna go back to normal, but… you get what I mean.”_

_The others nodded in agreement._

_“Laf…” Alex began, coughing to clear his throat, “You can… you can pour the lighter fluid on now. Or if you don’t want to, I don’t know, I could do it. Or Eliza could do it.”_

_“No, no,” they protested, twisting the black cap off the jug, “I will do it myself. This mess is my fault as much as it is yours.”_

_As they began to pour the liquid over the body and sticks, Alex glanced over at Madison, who had been oddly quiet for the past few minutes. The man had a distressed expression painted on his face, hands digging through his pockets. “James, are you alright?” Alex asked, and Madison shook his head, beginning to scan his eyes over the ground around him._

_“My engagement ring,” he breathed, dropping to his knees to grope around, “It’s gone. It’s gone. I had it on when we came down here.”_

_“Shit,” Mulligan cursed, bringing a hand up to rub his temple, “If the cops find it here-“_

_“We have to find it,” John snapped, joining Madison on the ground, feeling his hands around through the leaves. “What does it look like?”_

_“It looks like a god damned ring, Laurens! If you find a ring just give it to me!” The others looked at him strange for a second, surprised yet again by his outburst, but he just let out a breath through clenched teeth. “We need to finish this. Burn the body and I’ll find it once we get it out of here.”_

_Eliza flicked on her lighter, but Mulligan put out an arm before she could toss it into the fire. “Wait. Do you think it might be in the pile? We’d be in just as much trouble if somebody found it with the remains,” he said, and Madison sat up to let out an aggravated sigh._

_“It could be literally anywhere!” he cried._

_“Just light up the body, Eliza,” Alex demanded, pulling Mulligan away from her, “We don’t have a lot of time left before our alibi’ll be bust. Do it.”_

_Without hesitating, Eliza flicked the lighter back on and tossed it down into the fire, watching as the flames began to engulf the pile. The sour scent of burning flesh and plastic made everyone cringe and back away, though Eliza remained staring, fascinated, at the fire swirling up to the sky. It reflected off her pale face and made her look almost sadistic._

_“I’m so sorry,” Alex whispered to himself, hand pressed down over his mouth, “I’m so, so sorry…”_

_Through the pile of sticks and flames, he could still see the face of James Reynolds, blood dripping over his blank eyes._


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy ok i'm not feeling this chapter but! it's okay bc the next one is turning out better so far. thank u for being so cool and commenting and stuff i love everyone and i love that aps are over

[pegs]

\- liz oh my god

\- liz can i call you please?

\- this is urgent seriously

[lizzyschuyler]

\- I'm in a class rn can you text me?

[pegs]

\- have you watched the news?

[lizzyschuyler]

\- when?

[pegs]

\- this morning

[lizzyschuyler]

\- no i haven't, what's going on?

[pegs]

\- they found charles lee's body

\- like as in dead body

 

* * *

 

_Two months and three weeks ago…_

"Anything new, George?"

Martha's voice startled Washington out of his daze of reading the newspaper. The headline, bold and standing out, read ' _River Death: Accident, Suicide, or Murder?'_ It made his stomach twist. "No. If anything, they're more confused than they were before they found the body."

Suddenly, a plastic cup of coffee was dropped down next to Washington's arm, making him look up in surprise. Standing above him was a tall man, probably in his thirties, with unruly curls pulled back into a ponytail and a signature suspicious smile on his face.

"Venti cold chai tea latte with a triple shot?" the man asked, leaning on the table, "And no ice, of course. Wouldn't want to get cheated by the _bastards_ at _this capitalistic hellhole._ "

"James, I said that _one_ time, and you _know_ you put too much ice in my drink," Washington responded, slapping James on the arm playfully, "Besides, this _is_ a capitalistic hellhole. I don't know _how_ you make rent in _this_ city only working this job. No matter how many shifts you take."

He laughed, and held out a brown bag toward Martha. "Cranberry orange scone?"

"Oh! Forgot I ordered that for a second. Thank you, James," she smiled, taking the bag and giving him a motherly touch to the hand. "We were just talking about the boy whose body they found the other day, Charles Lee. You're here an awful lot, aren't you? Did you ever meet him before?"

"Charles Lee?" James asked, a half-terrified spark of recognition flashing over his eyes, "Didn't _know_ him, but he might've come in a couple of times to study or something. They know how he died yet?"

Washington pulled a face and finished swallowing his sip of coffee. "They found a fresh bullet wound in his side when they pulled him out of the river, but it was postmortem. Probably to cover up the real method of killing. Maybe even the motive."

James nodded in agreement, holding up a finger when his manager told him to get back to work. "I've gotta say, whoever did this was pretty smart to dump him in the river. All the DNA evidence is gone. They'll probably never figure out who done it. Any theories, George?" he asked curiously, that same vaguely scared look passing across his face once again.

"I've told Martha this a million times, and she still doesn't agree," Washington began, ignoring Martha's dramatic eye roll, "The roommate did it. Hercules Mulligan. Seems like a sweet boy, but I'm sure he's got some motive."

"Oh, I hadn't even _thought_ about that!" James exclaimed, something alike to relief in his voice, "Do you have any idea how he might've died? I mean I know you're not like… a forensic person or anything, but-"

Before he could finish, a blonde woman snapped her fingers at him with an angry look on her face, "Reynolds! Back to work!"

"Gotta go!" he said, beginning to walk backwards to the counter, "Keep me in the loop on the whole Charles Lee thing, I really wanna know how that turns out!"

"Will do, James," Martha called. She had a warm smile on her face when she turned back to her husband. "He's such a nice young man. You know his wife is in your class, right? I met her once before, when was it? I don't think you were there. She came in to visit James at work. What was her name? Mary? Oh, no, that's not it! Wait... Maria?"

Washington thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Ah, yes. Maria Reynolds. She sits in the back of the classroom, always wearing red. I considered hiring her, but-"

"You didn't want any more estrogen at your sausage-fest? Eliza and Angelica were enough?" Martha interrupted, raising an eyebrow. Washington turned red, looking away from her awkwardly. She laughed loudly, probably louder than was necessary, and put a hand on his own, squeezing it gently. "George, you're a sexist pig. But I love you." Martha grinned at him, eyes flickering up to look at the clock on the wall, "Oh! And you should _really_ get going. Class. Like ten minutes."

Washington looked up at the clock as well, and immediately launched to his feet, shouting, " _Shit!_ " as he grabbed his coat and coffee. "Love you."

"Love you too," Martha responded, leaning into the kiss he planted on her cheek. And as she watched him dash out the door, almost knocking over an elderly woman in the process, she couldn't help but think; _Angelica's kisses are so much softer than his._

 

* * *

 

"The question people most often ask me, as a lawyer, is how I know whether or not my clients are innocent or guilty. What do you think I say in response?" Washington paced in front of the class with his hands tucked behind his back. There was a distinct lack of Angelica and Jefferson, who were supposedly back at Washington's house and at the doctor's office, respectively. Alex had never been happier to be rid of the snide comments Jefferson would make while students were talking.

"What _do_ you say?" asked a voice from the back of the classroom; Alex looked back and saw Maria Reynolds with her hand raised. Washington gave her a slight chuckle.

"I don't care."

The class glanced around at each other uncomfortably, and Alex noticed that James was sliding down in his seat. "That probably sounds terrible. _Heartless_ even. But the point is, my clients, just like _every single one of you_ … lie." He emphasized the last word dramatically, scanning his eyes across the rows of students to see their awkward expressions. "And _lying_ makes them unknowable. Unreadable. Like Mister Burr, here."

"Huh?" Aaron asked, eyes going wide and sitting up straighter. When he realized what was going on, he offered the professor a casual smile. Several people chuckled.

"Are you really who you say you are? Or are there other _sordid_ details that we're missing?" Washington asked, a half-joking smile on his face. No one could miss how Aaron's expression fell. "Criminal record? Divorce? _Affair?"_ Aaron physically flinched at that one, "Perhaps an actual skeleton in your closet?"

As quickly as he had grown uncomfortable, Aaron sprang back into his usual charming and suave self, shrugging and laughing it off. "Well I don't know what to tell you, sir. I've never hurt a fly."

" _Putain l'enfer…_ " Lafayette mumbled.

"Of course, Mister Burr," the professor smiled, leaning back on his desk, "So you say. Everyone in this room, _everyone_ in this room, is a liar. Look around you. Look at the girl that sits next to you and shares chapstick with you. The cute kid you have a crush on. The loudmouth that's going to get himself shot some day," Alex could swear Washington met his eyes when he said that, "Because I can _guarantee_ that you have _no idea_ who that person really is. So you'd better have some _damn_ good instincts, or you might end up choosing the wrong people to study with. Or sleep with. Even marry."

He moved around to point the projector remote at the screen, ignoring the tense silence that had fallen over the room. "Don't believe me? Ask Molly Pitcher Conway, 20 year old watercolor painter, living happily at home waiting to inherit her billion dollar fortune from her parent's company." A picture of a young woman with dark hair and pale skin appeared on the screen, smiling. Then Washington changed the picture to one of a bruised dead body. "Until she was strangled to death in the kitchen of her mansion. The suspect, of course-" a picture of a man in his mid to late forties appeared, "-the husband himself, Tom Conway."

Before the professor had even finished speaking, Alex had pulled out his phone to look up the man. Immediately, news articles and links to videos popped up on his screen. "I want you all to start doing your research, I'm going to assign a paper on this case as soon as I close it, so you'd better start researching now. My five, come with me," Washington called, snapping his fingers.

 

* * *

 

"Oh, Molly's incredible," Tom said wistfully, before shaking his head, " _Was._ Sorry. She _was_ incredible. I met her in Ireland, you know? That's where I'm from. Well- born. Raised in the good ol' US of A. But I was in the airport coming home from my post in Afghanistan, connecting flight was in my own home town there, believe it or not, and what do you know it, she's the gal sitting next to me. Spilled water all over me during some turbulence, but that's what really got us talking. Oh! Here we are."

Tom Conway, a tall, thin, hook-nosed man with feathery white hair tucked back behind his ears, had been leading them to the kitchen for a solid ten minutes, somehow managing to make stops every five feet. And much to the dismay of Washington and his students, he talked the _entire_ way there. "This guy could give Alex a run for his money," Aaron whispered to Lafayette, who snorted.

"See, this is where I found her. Right in here," Tom said, letting the others walk into the room before him. The first thing they noticed was the dried up blood that stained the white marble floor. Aaron let out a half-gag sound, glancing at Washington, who walked through the arch into the dining room. "The prosecution says that _I_ did it to her, which is _ridiculous_. I mean, why would I want to kill my wife? I _loved_ her."

"Well, we're here to make sure we can let the jury know that. They say there was an altercation during dinner and you strangled her on the floor here? I'm confused," Washington told him, leaning on the dining room table and pointing to the spot where the blood was dried, "How did she wind up from all the way over _here_ in this room over _there_ in that room? Even if she put up a fight, you're a strong guy, it would be a little hard for her to get all the way in here."

"That's what _I_ said!" Tom shouted, waving his arms at Washington, "But of _course_ they don't believe me! Seriously, _this_ is how they think it happened. You, you with the sweater," he pointed at Madison, who looked around in confusion, "Come here for just a second!"

Before Madison could react, Tom had grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him over to the dining room table, sitting him down in one of the seats. When he'd sat himself into the one across from Madison, he looked at the students expectantly. "So Molly was sitting there, right?" he began, pointing, "And I'm sitting here. And the prosecution says what happened is that while we were eating dinner, I picked up the wine bottle from the middle of the table and cracked her over the head with it."

In dramatic slow motion, Tom mimed what he had said, standing up and crossing back to the other side of the table. "And then apparently I grabbed Molly up like this-" he pulled Madison up by the shoulders to a standing position, shoving him across the room, "-And took her _all the way in here_ to strangle her! And I throw her on the ground - that's where all the blood came from - and I put my hands around her neck and I choke her and choke her and _choke_ her!"

Aaron was giggling his ass off as Tom pretended to strangle Madison, straddling the young man on the ground. "And then once she's dead, I just, what? Leave her there? Yeah, apparently I leave her there! I don't try to clean up the body or anything, no, of course not! I just leave her there!"

Washington stepped forward quickly, putting a hand on Tom's shoulder with a tight smile on his lips. "Mr. Conway, while this demonstration is... _interesting_ , it's entirely unnecessary. We all know the prosecution's theory, we read it before we came. Could you... get off my student please?"

 

* * *

 

"Here's the files, you little shits," Jefferson snapped, kicking forward several black binders and rubbing his eyes, "All the evidence against Conway's in there, y'all need to go through it and find holes to get our guy a not guilty. And don't talk to me. I have a headache."

Eliza picked up a binder and shoved past Lafayette, who was apparently standing just a little too far in her way. Aaron watched her sit down in the corner and raised an eyebrow. "Jeez, what's crawling up everyone's asses tonight? No one has any chill," he said under his breath, and Lafayette gave a shrug.

"I do not think any of us have gotten much sleep recently. Not to mention the fact that we are all effected by the fact that one of our peers may have been murdered. Or killed themself. I am not sure what would be worse to find out," they responded in a dull voice, taking a binder from where it sat on the coffee table. Aaron was staring at them in vague shock. "What?"

"That was... a little dark for you, don't you think?" he asked, but it only got another shrug in response. "I mean you're always in a good mood and stuff. And anyway, no offense, but I'm gonna say murdered is worse. Cause if he killed himself then we don't have anything to worry about, but if he got _murdered-_ "

" _They._ "

"What?" Aaron stared at Lafayette for a long second, wondering if maybe he'd accidentally let the wrong pronouns slip, "I didn't- I wasn't talking about _you_ , I was talking about-"

"I am not the only nonbinary person in the world, Burr!" they snapped, slamming their binder shut and making the others in the room look over in surprise.

"My bad, sorry," Aaron said, raising his hands defensively. No one could ignore the slightly disgusted look he wore on his face. And once a moment of silence had passed, he unfortunately found the need to add, "And no offense, but he's not like... right here or anythi-"

"Vous plaisantez _j'espère_ , Aaron!?" Lafayette shouted, gritting their teeth and stamping a foot on the ground, "How much more disrespectful could you _be!?_ "

Before Aaron even had a chance to respond, Lafayette had turned on their heel and stormed away to sit at the kitchen table, fuming. He stood there staring at where they had left for a long minute, until he heard a low scoff from behind him. Turning, he saw Jefferson still leaned back on the sofa with his feet propped up on the coffee table, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Was I really being rude?" he asked. Jefferson didn't even open his eyes to answer.

"Rude as fuck, kid. Get a file. Start digging."

As Aaron picked up a binder and shuffled off toward the armchair, Alex crossed the room as quickly as he could manage, stepping over Madison, who was sprawled out on the floor, and into the kitchen. Lafayette hadn't even turned on the lights; they were reading over their file with the light from their phone. After a moment of hesitant staring, Alex stepped closer, noticing how tightly knit their brow was.

"Hey, Laf," he said softly, offering a smile. Their shoulders relaxed a bit and they put down their phone.

"Alexander."

Alex pulled one of the stools out and sat down on it, leaning an elbow on the table. "Everything okay? Kinda seemed like Aaron was being a dick." This earned a half-hearted chuckle.

"The biggest dick. And not in the good way," they said, still not meeting Alex's eyes. " _Dieu,_ I hate cis people-" they paused, "No offense meant, Alexander."

"None taken," Alex laughed, shaking his head, "We're the worst. It's true. What did Aaron say? Am I gonna have to duel him for you? Old revolution style, one on one in New Jersey, guns blazing? Somebody dies? The vice president is there?" he gave Lafayette several playful punches to the arm, and was pleased to see a smile returning to their face. "Seriously though, what did he say?"

"He was refusing to use the correct pronouns for the student who is dead. Charles Lee?" they said, and Alex nodded. "I met them at the GSA meeting once, I believe they used to be my stand in for when I could not make it to meetings. We lead one together once." Lafayette's eyes looked a bit glassy, as if they were remembering something fondly. But then, they said in a bitter laugh, "They were a dick. I have never hated working with someone as much as I hated working with Lee. But that does not mean that I will allow them to be misgendered. Especially not now that they are... now that they are dead."

Alex nodded, unsure of what else he could say. Lafayette had clearly known Lee longer than they were letting on, but Alex knew it would be rude to try and push them to open up. Especially since they were supposed to be working anyway. _They'll tell me when they're ready. Or maybe not. I guess it doesn't really matter._

Silence fell between them for the next few minutes, allowing them both to go back to reading the files. Lafayette tried to keep their eyes on the words on the page, but it was in vain. There was no way they were going to focus. Eventually, they found themself looking up while Alex scanned his eyes over a page and jotted down notes on a page of sparkly pink notebook paper. _Wow,_ they thought to themself, _I have never seen someone read or write so fast in my life._

"Hang on a second, wait," Alex said, brow furrowed deeply. Lafayette, jarred out of their wistful staring, leaned forward and peered into the binder curiously, "When we talked to Conway he said that there were _three_ officers on the scene."

Lafayette nodded in agreement. "I see what you are saying. Here. 'Hayes and Goldstein'. There are only two officers in the report. So this report is a lie. We need to find the originals."

Both of their faces split into smiles, and Alex jumped to his feet, "Let's go tell Washington."

 

* * *

 

_Lafayette glanced over their shoulder nervously, making sure every few seconds that Eliza's car was still there._

_They kept their face away from the cameras with the hood of their jacket up, and ran their hands along the shelves as they searched for the lighter fluid. Fuck dammit, where is it? How am I not going to look suspicious buying it?_

_Another check. Eliza was still there._

_Thinking quickly, Lafayette turned away from the lighter fluid and began searching through the granola bars diligently, picking up a cookie dough flavored one and a chocolate one. Then they stood up as casually as they could and made their way into the next aisle, pretending to browse through several different brands of painkillers._

_They looked out the window. Eliza was still there._

_Eventually, they settled on Motrin and picked up a box of tissues to go with it. Then they half-jogged to the refrigerators, picking out a RedBull and a Gatorade. A bag of trail mix was added. Then a window scraper. And finally, they grabbed the lighter fluid._

_Eliza's car was still there._

_They hurried up to the counter, dropping the items down in front of a tired looking cashier, and tried to offer the best smile they could give. "Evening," they said, and the cashier nodded._

_"You too. You one of those bonfire kids?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the mass quantities of lighter fluid. Lafayette nodded as convincingly as they could. "Sounds fun. Wish I was in your shoes."_

_"Oh, believe me, mon cher, if you were in my shoes you would not be having fun. One of my friends is on the committee that organized it and he is unfortunately sick tonight. I am left doing all the work he was supposed to do, not to mention running errands for him as well. Motrin is a good brand for headaches, no?" they asked. The cashier looked rather surprised to have gotten so much conversation out of Lafayette, and gave a small smile._

_"Yeah. I think it is. I use Advil, personally, but whatever your friend likes," he said. Lafayette glanced over their shoulder again, rummaging through their pockets for money. Then their eye caught on something in one of the aisles. "Okay, your total is-"_

_"One moment, I am sorry, I forgot something," they interrupted, dashing back over to the shelf and grabbing up one of the black burner phones, "Here. I hope it is not too much trouble to add."_

_"No problem at all," the cashier smiled, ringing up the phone and putting it in the plastic bag with the other things, "Now your total is thirty two sixty two. Hope your friend's giving you some money for all this stuff. Seems like you're going through a lot of trouble for him."_

_Lafayette laughed, handing over the change and taking the bag, "It is no problem. It was my choice to help."_


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy  
> this is a mess

"This was a good catch," Angelica said, reading over the papers Alex and Lafayette had given her moments before. The two had been sent away so Washington and his associates could discuss what to do, and she could hear them conversing with the other students outside the door. "What do you think we should do about it?"

"Just go down to the station, ask them for the real one," Jefferson said from underneath the jacket of his suit; he'd covered up his face with it so he wouldn't be able to see the lights. "They might give it to you. They know you pretty well."

"No, you absolute fucker. I hate what your medication does to your brain, it muddles you up, makes you useless..." Washington muttered, rubbing his chin and shooting a glare in Jefferson's direction, "We need to send someone down there to get it, someone we can trust. Damn, it's times like this that I miss Lee, he could talk shit on me to no end, nobody _ever_ suspected he worked for me. One of the new kids'll have to do, I suppose."

Angelica nodded, setting the papers down, "Good idea. They know all of us, but your students are unfamiliar faces. Get it through a couple of little lies, no harm no foul. They don't say their name or our names, nobody's the wiser. Who should we send?"

"Lafayette? They seem like a charming young ma- _person._ Could get it pretty easy," Washington said, but Angelica shook her head quickly.

"No, they say their name every time they open their mouth, they'd give us away in a second. Plus, I don't know how good of a liar they are," she responded. Washington gave her an odd look.

"And you know what good liars the others are?"

She tightened her jaw, letting out a stiff chuckle. "No, I just don't think they _seem_ like a good liar. Just an assumption based on their personality. Very honest seeming, you know what I mean. And Burr's a no-go too, he's too douchey. Plus I don't really like him."

"How about your sister?" Washington suggested, shrugging, "She's been living with you so long she's probably got a hang on the whole getting things through deciet deal. I mean considering your father and everything, she seems like she hides things well."

"Eliza? Ha!" Angelica said, "No, _Peggy's_ the one that's good at lying, sir. Liz never really picked it up. You've known her long enough that you should know that. So that really just leaves Madison and Hamilton."

"They both seem like good choices, to be quite honest," Washington nodded, "Madison's so unassuming and quiet I don't think the office would suspect anything."

"So Madison it is, then? Thomas, you got any input on this?" Angelica asked, and Jefferson shrugged.

"Sure, I guess. Send the puppy."

Washington and Angelica both looked over at Jefferson - or rather, at the heap of Jefferson's jacket - and gave him a confused look. "The who?" she asked after a moment. Jefferson, pulling his jacket down into his lap and groaning, waved around toward the door.

"The _puppy._ Hamilton," he responded, earning an eyeroll from Angelica, "What!? C'mon, don't tell me he's not a literal chihuahua. I swear to god. Tiny, angry, and have you _seen_ the way he's all over Washington? Honestly I could see him in one of those little sparkly purses hanging off your arm."

"Okay, that's _enough_ , Thomas," Washington said, though neither could help but notice the slight smirk on his face, "He's got a good pleading look, I'll give you that."

"Plus he seems shady as hell, I could see him lying pretty easily."

Washington nodded in agreement, scratching his chin once again. Then, after a second of thought, he snapped his fingers. "Alright. Sounds like a plan. Call him in here."

Without hesitation, Angelica clicked back over to the door and opened it slightly, curling a beckoning finger toward Alex, who was in the middle of a conversation with Eliza. "Hamilton," she said, "In here. Now."

 

* * *

 

"Hamilton," Angelica said, "In here. Now."

Alex didn't say anything, just nodded quickly and hurried into Washington's office, closing the door behind him. As soon as he was out of sight, Eliza put a hand on her hip. "What do we think is happening in there?" she asked with a suspicious look on her face, "I mean we all earned our spot. But why is Washington treating him like some sort of personal pet? Like seriously? What did scholarship do to deserve _that_?"

Madison scoffed, sitting down in the armchair with a file in his lap, "Don't call him that, Eliza. You never know. Maybe he's Washington's secret baby or something."

"Like he gave him up for adoption and he doesn't even _know!_ " Aaron added, thrusting his binder around.

Lafayette rolled their eyes. "Because the Professor and Alexander look _so_ much alike, don't they?"

"Look, I was just saying that-"

"Guys, shut up," Eliza interrupted, walking between the two in an attempt to break the unnecessary tension, "My point is that something shady's happening. Washington's treating him too special."

"You're just jealous because he isn't treating _you_ like a lapdog," Aaron scoffed, "I bet you were expecting it since your big sister works for him."

Eliza was turning red with rage, clenching her fists at her sides. "I was _not!_ I'm just saying that it's not _fair!_ "

"Alexander is simply a good student and a good worker. That is why he is being treated better than the rest of us, it is because he is actually carrying his weight. If we would all stop running our mouths for a minute or two and try to do some research, perhaps the Professor would treat us the same," Lafayette let it all spill out of their mouth, legs crossed and eyes trained on a spot of dirt across the room on the floor. When they were met with dead silence, they let out a breath. "Merci. Assholes."

The silence only lasted for another minute, however, before Eliza tried to get up and press her ear against the door to the office. Madison pulled her back down by the skirt, and she glared at him hard. "I just wanna hear."

"I _know_ you just wanna hear, but we'll get in _massive_ trouble if you get caught. All of us," he responded, and Eliza sighed, opening her binder back up. "Besides, look, the door's opening right now."

Alex crossed the room wringing his hands, taking a seat at the coffee table with uncomfortably pursed lips and rigid posture. Neither Washington or his associates came out of the office with him, Angelica closing the door so they could continue their discussion in private. Which left the students alone to talk. Eliza was the first to leap down Alex's throat, jumping almost all the way off the couch.

"What'd you guys talk about!? What's going on? What did Washington want from you!?" she demanded, and Alex took a deep breath, looking a bit pale.

"He wants me to get the supplemental arrest report from the police station. And he says if I have to lie about where I'm from then I should do it," he muttered. Aaron let out a laugh, holding out his hand for a high five.

"That is _awesome_ , dude!" he grinned, "Man, I'd _kill_ for a job like that!"

Alex didn't return the smile. "I'd kill just to be left to research, honestly."

"Um, no you wouldn't," Aaron shot back, shaking his head. "This is boring and tedious as all hell, man. Ask anybody. You're lucky Washington's adopted you as his personal pet."

"I'd take tedious over lying to police any day," he said once again, flipping open his binder to begin reading again. Eliza, excitement and curiosity quenched by hearing what he had to say, put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You'll do fine. I mean what's the worst that could happen?"

 

* * *

 

Alex smiled at the woman in the window, bouncing nervously on his feet. "I, um. I need the supplemental arrest report on Thomas Conway," he said as he drummed his fingers over the counter. The woman, dark hair tied back in a ponytail, gave him a blank, annoyed look.

"You fucking kidding me?" she demanded, though at the same time she was walking back to a filing cabinet, leaving Alex with a confused expression on his face.

"N... no? Why?"

She snorted, rolling her eyes and flipping through the papers. "Of course you're not. He teaches you this when he hires you, doesn't he?" Alex could swear his heart stopped. _Oh no, oh my god, she knows where I'm from. Washington's going to kill me._

"He- um?" he tried to say, but she had already continued,

"That the rest of us are just here to serve the DA's office? That we're just here to give you stuff when you deign to call on us?" she asked. Alex blinked slowly. _What?_

"DA's office?" he asked.

Then a file was being placed in front of him, official seal stamped on the front in blue ink. "It's like that man exists just to waste my time. You can tell _that_ to Paine, alright?" she said, giving him a coy smile. "I'm sure he's not any better of a boss to _you._ Otherwise you wouldn't be down here."

"Uh. Sure," Alex said, trying for a smile, though it probably looked more like a grimace. "Thank you."

 

* * *

 

After picking up the file and stopping briefly at Starbucks for a shot of espresso, Alex finally got back to his apartment and collapsed in bed. There was a note from Aaron left on the desk that said he was out and wouldn't be back until later, but Alex was too tired to care for the whereabouts of his roommate.

He laid down for a long while, staring up at the ceiling, water stains leading from above him and down the wall toward the scratch marks. _Scratch marks?_ he wondered, rolling over with a grunt and bringing a hand up to run his fingers across the deep scratches in the wall. It looked like they'd been made by some rabid animal, but what could possibly have done it Alex had no clue. It wasn't like he knew anything about whoever used to live here.

_2:35 AM._ Alex allowed himself to groan. Tomorrow at eight he had a class, one that he had homework for, but of _course_ couldn't do the homework for since he was so busy working for Professor Washington. Which only left late nights to do it. Like now. _God, this is the fiftieth late night I've had in the last two days, I'm gonna die young by drowning in a coffee pot..._

Grumbling to himself, he fished his binder out of his bag and flopped back down on the bed, pulling out a pencil and flipping to the packet he was supposed to read. It had only been a half an hour, maybe less, when he heard it.

Knocking on the door.

Alex sat up, room spinning for a moment, and squinted at the door suspiciously. He'd been focusing so intently on his homework that he'd forgotten the real world existed. _Did I imagine that knock?_ He wouldn't be shocked if he had. But then the knocking came again, this time a bit louder. Every horror film he'd ever watched flashed before his eyes. A pause, another knock. "Alexander? You in there?" it was John Laurens, the neighbor.

"Yeah, I'm here," he called, standing up to open the door for him. "Whoa."

Much to his shock, John was standing in his doorway with nothing but a purple towel wrapped around his waist, curly hair pulled up in a bun. "The dumbass people upstairs must have flushed their drugs down the toilet because now there's nasty ass shit coming out of my shower and I need to use yours," he said quickly, shortly. It wasn't a question, or a request. He was just stating it.

"Um-" before Alex even had time to respond, John was pushing past him into the apartment, stopping half way to the bathroom.

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head quickly, "That was rude. I'm just- I'm tired, and I can't sleep until I've washed the bullshit I get on me at the hospital off my body."

"Right, yeah, that's fine," Alex said, rubbing the back of his neck. _Don't look at his abs. Don't look at his abs._ "It's- I mean, I'm pretty sure you know where the bathroom is. It's kind of... obvious."

"Yeah. All the apartments are the same in this building," John said, "And um, no offense, but you _really_ need to pick your shit up off the floor. This is just like Manning, jeez. Only she had the whole apartment to throw her stuff around."

Alex tilted his head as John walked into the bathroom, setting his phone down on the sink. "Manning? Who's-"

"Martha Manning," he interrupted, and Alex's eyes went wide when he dropped the towel to the floor, "She lived here before you. And you should really get back to your homework. It's pretty late."

 

* * *

 

_The woods were getting colder the longer they stood there, breath turning into steam._

_"OKAY, EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Mulligan bellowed, making everyone fall silent once again. "Alex is right, okay!? We can't leave the body where it is!"_

_"I don't know if you noticed this, Mulligan, but Washington literally lives right in the middle of where the bonfire's happening. There's no way to get the body out of his house without somebody seeing us," Madison commented, glaring. "Unless you want to... I don't know, chop it up in the house and put it in to-go boxes or something."_

_"You know what Madison? I think everybody here would like it if you shut the fuck up," Laurens yelled with his fists clenched. "We've already killed one person tonight, I don't wanna have to up it to two."_

_"Say that a bit louder, Laurens, I do not think everyone in a twenty mile radius could hear you!" Lafayette growled through clenched teeth. "I am not surprised you were on trial in the first place..."_

_"Guys, we need to focus, stop flinging insults at each other," Eliza said, finally pushing herself to her feet. "We already know we're taking the cane back, but who thinks we should get rid of the body? Just... I don't know, raise your hands or something."_

_"That's not gonna work, Eliza," Alex said through clenched teeth, slamming his fists into the sides of his legs, "I'll flip a coin, there's one in my pocket."_

_"No, no, I am NOT letting a fucking coin decide whether or not I'm going to fucking jail!" Madison yelled, pointing a finger in Alex's face. John stepped forward, looking ready to deck Madison if he got any closer to Alex._

_"It's the only way to do it, alright!? Heads we go back and get Reynolds, tails we leave him where he is," Alex said. The group was silent, "Alright!?"_

_"Fine, fine!" Madison said, raising his hands in surrender, "Whatever! Do it. I don't care anymore! I mean we've already killed someone tonight, so a fucking coin toss won't be the craziest thing we've done!"_

_"Shut up, James," Eliza snapped as Alex fished a coin out of his pocket. "Heads we go back. Tails we don't."_

_"Alright, here we go."_

 

* * *

 

"This case is fucking stupid," Burr groaned, picking up another box, "Like he obviously killed her. He's so shady. Plus, there's like... nobody else that could've done it. The evidence is so substantial. Plus, I mean did you _see_ how he was straddling Madison? That was a _practiced_ weirdo. And it made _everybody_ uncomfortable."

"Maybe it made _you_ uncomfortable. I thought it was sort of... _kinky_ ," Madison said without even glancing over at Burr, "I mean it wasn't any worse than my usual extracurricular activities." Alex and Eliza burst out laughing, and Burr just let out a long groan.

"That's  _gross_ , man!"

"Shut up, shut up, I am trying to listen!" Lafayette said, waving their arms around to silence their friends. The television was turned to the news channel, which was currently displaying the familiar photograph of Charles Lee.

" _...and the medical examiners have just confirmed that the death of Middleton student Charles Lee was indeed a homicide. This news comes in a week after his body was discovered in the Schuylkill River just outside the bar he was previously employed at. Sources say..._ "

"You wanna know something great?"

Lafayette glared at Burr, who was smiling at the rest of the group, a bag of peanut M&Ms in his hand, "I've been to Philly, and people swim in the river in that part of town sometimes. And corpses shit themselves. That means people were swimming in Charles Lee's poop." He laughed, but his comment only received several groans, Madison putting his head in his hands.

"Is Professor Washington back yet?" it was Alex, coming back from the bathroom, flannel draped over his ever-thinning shoulders. Lafayette shushed him, turning back to the TV.

" _So far, no suspects have been announced, but police spent the morning interviewing his roommate and rumored boyfriend, Hercules Mulligan, Middleton's star football player,_ " said the voice of Abigail Adams, and Alex stared with wide eyes as a photo of Mulligan appeared on the screen. His eyes couldn't help but flash back to seeing him storming out of John's apartment, shoving him out of the way, John's helpless look when Alex got up to their floor.

"Hercules did not tell me he was being interviewed..." Lafayette murmured under their breath, blinking slowly at the screen. "This does not make any sense."

The sound of the front door opening drew everyone's attention away from the screen. "Ah, Hamilton. Did you get the file?" Washington asked as he came in, "That's a good lad. You look inside?"

"Yeah, I did," Alex said quickly, rushing over to the professor excitedly, "And there was a discrepancy!"

Washington actually looked surprised, brow furrowing. "Really? What was it? Where is it?"

"It was a name. Right here."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im trying i swear im just Very slow also rip this chapter is a mess but   
> please  
> motivate me  
> leave me a review  
> let me kNOW YOU'RE STILL READING THIS PLEASE  
> seriously i read every single review and i love them all   
> please

"Joseph Brandt, correct?"

"That's me."

"Right, hello Officer Brandt," the woman speaking was one of the most stunning human beings Eliza had ever seen in her entire life. Enormous red curls spilled over her shoulders and framed her face like a lion's mane, dark skin mottled with pale patches of vitiligo. One of her eyes was a white blue color, the other deep brown, and she wore a purple pinstriped suit. Of course... she _was_ the prosecution's lawyer, but that honestly didn't make her any less beautiful.

Alex must have noticed Eliza's dreamy stare, because he elbowed her in the stomach with a sly look on his face. "You know staring is rude, Betsy," he smirked. Eliza flushed.

"I was watching the trial. And don't call me Betsy," she whispered, head whipping back around to watch Joseph Brandt on the stand.

"...And you walked in while the defendant was still _strangling_ his wife?"

Brandt nodded with a solemn, though reasonably fake, look on his face. "I did, Miss Wales-"

" _Doctor_ Wales, thank you."

He turned red, squirming awkwardly in his seat. "Right. Sorry, um- _Doctor_ Wales. But yes, I did walk in while the murder was being carried out. And it was a terrible sight to see. He was all up on top of her, I had to pull him off her 'til backup could get there. Held him down against the table."

"Awful. Simply awful," she responded, but Washington raised a hand.

"Objection, your Honor. Prompting the jury."

"Overruled. Continue please, Dr. Wales."

"I'm done, your Honor." She gave Washington a half-wink and headed back for her table. "Your witness, George," she said, and he stood up just as she sat down.

"Thank you, Martha. And good morning, Officer Brandt. I assure you my questions won't take very long," Washington told him, hands clasping a folder behind his back. "Now, you told Doctor Jef-" he coughed to cover up the accident, "Doctor _Wales_ that _you_ were the one who first arrived at the crime scene, responding to a domestic disturbance call, correct?"

"That's right, sir," Brandt answered.

Washington pursed his lips. "Alright. Well that's interesting, considering that the supplemental arrest report here says it was Officer Charles Pinckney that arrived first and called _you_ for backup." There were gasps from the jury. "Not to mention the fact that he states my client's wife was _already_ dead when he did arrive."

Eliza saw Doctor Wales closing her eyes and scowling, clenching her fists under the table. _I should not be turned on by that, oh god..._ Eliza groaned to herself, and yet...

Brandt was stuttering on the stand, obviously panicking. "I- no, I-"

"Did you or did you not just lie on the stand?" Washington asked, voice all too earnest. Brandt's face was rapidly approaching the color of the CNN logo. "Answer my question, Officer Brandt. Was Officer Charles Pinckney the first responding officer or not?"

"He was, but-"

"And you forged an arrest report because you knew there wouldn't be enough evidence to convict my client with what had really happened?"

"Yes, but-"

"So you not only lied to your employers, to your coworkers, _and_ to the prosecution and myself, but you also went on the stand, swearing to tell the truth and only the truth and you had the _audacity_ to lie to the jury?" it came out of Washington's mouth so smoothly and quickly that everyone blinked several times before being able to process what he said.

Brandt seemed unable to answer.

Washington spun on his heel. "No further questions, your Honor."

 

* * *

 

"We'll head back to the firm, we've got a lot to work with and a lot of time to do it. I hope you five have cleared your schedules for today," Washington said, five students following after him like ducklings. Madison looked uncomfortable for a moment, seemingly about to voice the entire group's concern about missing other classes, but decided to keep silent. "Good. Now..." Washington kept talking after that, but it started to fade out in James' ears.

He slowed to a halt as he caught sight of a familiar shade of red tucked next to the water fountains, piercing brown eyes staring directly at him. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being summoned by the group, James jogged over to where the woman was standing, awkwardly clutching the handles of her backpack.

"Maria," he said, brow furrowed, and she offered off a half-smile, "What are you doing here?"

She shifted, swallowing thickly and shrugging. The action caused a ripple to go through the flowing fabric of her red pantsuit, and at any other moment, James would have appreciated the fine piece of clothing. But all he could think about now was concern. "I wanted to know if you would... I don't know, and I'm not coming onto you, I swear- would you go to Wendy's with me? Just really quick?"

The question took James off guard for a moment. "Um- _Wendy's_?" was all he could get out.

Maria quickly jumped to explain. "I've been having a _really_ bad day, okay, and I totally understand if you don't want to, because ha, what if your fiancee caught us together, I'm not exactly a pure looking girl, she might get a little suspicious, and- it's just- you seem like a really good person, Madison, and there's a huge lack of good people in my life right now. Just- please. I really- I need-"

"Of course." He wasn't thinking about the law firm or Washington. Not about his other classes. Maria looked absolutely _helpless._

When he said that, however, her face lit up. If he didn't know any better, he might've said there were tears in her eyes. "Thank you, oh my god, thank you so much. I'll pay for you, don't worry," she said, grinning that deep red smile of hers.

James shook his head, smiling back. "It's fine, really. Wendy's isn't exactly expensi..." he trailed off, eyes catching on a dark patch of purple wrapping around her wrist. _Those are finger marks._

She must've realized that he saw the bruise, because she tugged down her sleeve a bit more, shaking her head. "Problem for another day. Don't worry about that."

He didn't say this out loud, but James knew he would be worrying about it for the next few weeks.

 

* * *

 

Three hours after the trial had ended, Angelica dropped three boxes of pizza down on the coffee table, followed by two separate cardboard coffee trays. "Got the food for everybody," she said, and everyone essentially lunged at it, "Jeez, you're all fucking animals."

"Now, since we've discredited their star witness, we have to go after the motive. Figure out a way to disprove every explanation they can conjure up for why Conway might have wanted to kill his wife," Washington said before taking a long sip of coffee, "I want everybody to figure out what they might try to use. No explanation is a stupid one, because juries are stupid. Go. Think."

Alex sat up straighter, clearing his throat, "I actually-"

"So I did some reading on this earlier and it looks like they're going to be using Molly's best friend Charlotte Mecklenburg to testify about what a terrible husband Tom was," Eliza interrupted, and all eyes went to her, ignoring Alex, "I've been digging to try and find some dirt on her to nix whatever she has to say, but so far I've found nothing. On the internet, anyway. I'd have to ask Peggy if I wanted to go any deeper."

"Peggy does your hacking, no?" Lafayette asked, swirling their coffee around. Eliza nodded. "I will not let you pull the weight of the entire firm, Eliza, I can take care of the deeper digging."

"Really?" Eliza asked, and if Alex didn't know any better, she still had a slightly smug look on her face after interrupting him. "Thank you so much, you're the nicest. Are you the hacker or do you have a hacker friend?"

"Hacker friend. Hercules Mulligan, technically hacker boyfriend, I suppose," they smiled, and then their brow furrowed, a concerned frown spreading on their face. "And that is him. On the television right now. Being interviewed by Abigail Adams. Professor, do you mind if I listen to this? I will keep it quiet."

"Go ahead, Lafayette," Washington said, turning back to the rest of the group, "After that we have to establish and alibi. Tom claims he was dropping off borrowed tupperware at a neighbor's house when the murder occurred. Since he didn't specify what neighbor it was in his statement, we can find anyone. And we'll need them to testify. Jefferson, you cover that. Take someone with you. Show them how it's done."

"Awesome," Jefferson said, snapping his fingers several times, "Yes. I'm the _master_ of finding receipts. Doucheface, turtleneck, you're coming with me."

"Yes!" Burr grinned, before sobering and offering up a half-glare. "Doucheface?"

 

* * *

 

"You know, Dolley took me to a human skeleton and internal organs museum for our first date," James commented, watching in half-amusement as Burr dug through yet another one of Conway's neighbor's trash, the three of them hidden by the shadow of the house, "I had a panic attack in the second room and almost ended up hospitalized because I passed out and hit my head on a bench. But digging through people's trash? This definitely wins for worst first date."

"How about we call this one a practice round and I take you out for dinner this weekend?" Jefferson asked, offering up a smirk. James just rolled his eyes.

And then Aaron was emerging from the trash, wielding, quite literally, the receipts. "I've got 'em! These are the receipts of the _shady_ business!" he grinned, and Jefferson snatched it out of his hand. After reading it over, he made a satisfied face and nodded, looking up into the window of the house. Inside was a middle aged man setting down plates for his wife and young children.

"High powered married business man meet gay club receipts. Looks like we've got our alibi."

 

* * *

 

Hercules was staring blankly at a photo pinned to his bulletin board- no, not _his_ bulletin board. Charles' bulletin board. They were the one that insisted upon keeping the ridiculous thing above the shared desk in the apartment, Hercules had never wanted anything to do with it.

Until now, of course. Now his eyes were drifting from corner to corner, observing the random post-its and notes and photos and drawings that were stuck with multicolored pins all over the board. There was a map of Philly and several coupons to Wokworks, a work schedule - Hercules had to let out a dry chuckle at that one, he'd always made fun of his roommate for not keeping everything on their phone - and a brochure for a haunted house.

It was all very haphazard, something that used to drive Hercules up the wall, no sense of order or pattern or design to the arrangement. He used to avoid looking at it completely. But staring at it now, at the bright colored ribbons decorating the top of it and the smiley face stickers all over the edges, he felt...

He wasn't sad. But he wasn't happy either. The recent events, Charles... _dying_ gave him a swirling tornado of emotions that made it impossible to pull out one descriptor for it all. Hurt, devastated, sick-

_Empty._

_That might be a good word_ , Hercules thought, blinking slowly as he continued to stare. _Yeah. Empty._ But looking at the board made him feel... _slightly less empty? Maybe._ The chaos and clutter and obvious excitement and energy that emanated from the board made him feel slightly less empty.

It was almost like he had his scatterbrained, loud, anxious roommate back and sitting in front of him.

Hercules looked up as he heard the door to his apartment being slammed, heart stuttering in his chest. When Charles was still... alive, it wasn't uncommon for someone to come storming in, stomping through toward the room Hercules spent all his time in. But now, it raised some red flags. He glanced out of the doorway nervously, eyes wide.

But then he saw who it was and almost started laughing, smile quickly spreading across his face. "Hey, Laf, how's my favorite french bread?" he asked. It was a relief to see Lafayette. They always managed to take his mind off the bad things going on in his life.

He would have gotten up to hug them, maybe give them a kiss, if it weren't for the fact that Lafayette only stood there and glared at him, arms crossed and mouth turned downward into a scowl. Hercules cleared his throat, expression sobering. _I guess no happy greeting, then._ "H- hey. What's up? Something wrong?"

"I am here to ask for a favor, but also I am _very_ angry. So let me get this out of my system. Fuck you, Hercules Mulligan, _fuck you._ "

His eyes went wide. _That came out of nowhere_. "Uh- um?" was all he could get out at first, and then, "Okay uh- wait, wait, just- what did I do? What'd I do wrong, Laf, tell me, talk to me. Don't get mad-"

"I am already mad as _the hell_ , Hercules!" they snapped, and he didn't want to interrupt to tell them that it was just 'mad as hell' not 'mad as the hell', "Rumored boyfriend!? That _is_ what Abigail Adams said to you, no? That you were Lee's _rumored boyfriend!?_ "

"Is that what this is about?" Hercules asked, brow furrowing, "You're pissed because of some stupid rumor Adams made up on TV?"

"That is not all I am ' _pissed_ ' about, I watched the entire broadcast of your _interview!_ You know, the one with Adams! Not the one with the _police-_ Both of which you told me _nothing_ about beforehand, might I add!?"

"Jeez, Laf, you're getting worked up over nothing-"

They laughed loudly, beginning to pace, "Worked up over nothing!? I cannot believe the absolute horse shit that is coming out of your mouth right now! You were on the TV and you said - you said this, exactly - 'our friend Lafayette who comes over sometimes' and then when she asked you who this 'Lafayette' person was you said my name, my _full name_ out loud on national television!"

"It wasn't your _full name_ , Laf, nobody has time to say your full name, I was just clarifying-" Hercules cut himself off, rubbing the bridge of his nose angrily, "It slipped out, okay?! It was a mistake! I don't see what the big deal is!" Lafayette just crossed their arms, turning away from him. Hercules felt a pang of regret in his chest immediately. "Look, if- I'm really sorry, okay? Is this like... a dysphoria thing? I know it fucks with me hearing my birth name, and it _sucks._ Just- tell me if that was it, cause I swear I'll never do it again, and-"

"I was banned from coming to America by the French government."

Hercules felt his eyes go wide, taking a step back. "I'm- hold on, I'm sorry, _what?_ "

Lafayette turned to him, bitter tears threatening to spill out of their eyes. "I do not want to talk about it, Hercules, please. I am- you understand now, no? Why I do not want my name on television?"

"Yeah, I get it, but-" he cut himself off once again, shaking his head and pulling them into a hug, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I didn't think about it, I should've asked before I mentioned you."

"Peu importe..." they murmured, burying their face in his shoulder. After a moment of rocking back and forth in silence, they pulled away and gave Hercules a small smile. "I am sorry I got so angry. But in my defense I did warn you before doing the tirade."

"You did, I'll give you that," Hercules agreed, swinging their hands back and forth. "Now did you say something about a favor?"

"Ah, yes, oui, of course. I need you to hack into some woman's computer. Rich lady. Runs a fashion magazine, I think."

"You better feel lucky I love you, asshole. Now what's this chick's name?"

 

* * *

 

_Flick._ _The flame appeared within her hand, tiny, bright, warm._

_Flick._ _It was gone._

_Flick. There it was again, climbing toward the sky, flickering and fluttering in the chilled air._

_Flick. Gone again, making her hands fall dark._

_Flick. Eliza loved fire. She'd always loved fire. Ever since she was a little girl, fires and candles and lighters always brought her joy and comfort, staring into the tiny sun in front of her managed to give her a smile even in the darkest of times._

_But now... there was a damn body blazing behind her. A body that she lit on fire. Taunting words from Peggy when they were children echoed in her ears, her sister's voice calling her a 'pyromaniac' and 'arsonist' and now- god, they were right. She's a killer. She's burning a body in the woods._ _She was turned away so she wouldn't have to look at the flames._

_So she wouldn't have to admit that it was a calming sight._

_There was the sound of crunching leaves, and she glanced over to see Alex sitting down next to her, giving her lighter an odd look. Eliza just looked away and sighed. "I carry two."_

_"Figured," he responded, staring off into the distance. Neither said anything as they listened to the fire roaring behind them, slowly turning James Reynolds into a pile of burnt clothes and bones. They could still hear Madison muttering to himself and pacing back and forth, Mulligan and John arguing quietly a little further away. Lafayette was oddly silent, but the two didn't think anything of it._

_Flick. Eliza brought the tiny flame back to life._

_Flick. She put it away._

_Flick. Brought it back out._

_She stared at it for a long moment, eyes following the dance of the fire reaching upwards, trying to forget about what was going on. But then she put it away quickly, heart staggering in her chest as she heard a shouting voice from somewhere far away._

_That voice was definitely not someone who had been there before._


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE EVERYONE THAT LEFT A REVIEW ur all my best friends now u have no choice  
> pls validate me again even tho this chapter is a mess

Alex was sitting at his desk awkwardly, feeling a little more than useless.

With Lafayette covering the first witness and Jefferson taking Madison and Burr to establish an alibi, that just left him and Eliza with nothing to do. And even then, Eliza still managed to find _something_ to do.

_Perks of having a sister who works for Washington, I guess,_ he thought, sighing and rubbing his temples.

Another five minutes passed, and Alex hadn't moved from his spot at the desk, hands tapping mindlessly on the blank screen of his phone. For a moment, he considered texting Madison to ask why he was avoiding him, but then his anxiety slapped him hard across the face and screamed, "What the _fuck_ , Alexander!?"

So he canned that idea.

But his contacts list was still open, and Alex let his eyes fall on a different name. _Okay. Weird. I didn't even know I had that number._

John Laurens.

He let himself write out a message, then deleted it all and started over. And then started over again. And then again. And then finally, he accidentally sent one and decided to just leave it at that.

As the seconds ticked by, he started bouncing his leg, and when a solid two minutes had gone, his heart was racing. _Oh god, I said something stupid- I mean I know all I said was 'hey what's up' but that could totally be taken wrong or-_

Nope, his phone was buzzing and John Laurens' number was showing up on the screen.

[John Laurens]

\- hey!

Alex almost sighed in relief, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before starting his reply.

[me]

\- What's up?

[John Laurens]

\- nm im on break rn

\- from work yk?

\- at the hospital

\- sup w u?

Unsurprisingly, Alex had to think about that one. What _was_ up with him? Nothing right now, really. _Ha,_ he had to chuckle, _that's a change._ So he just went with what he hoped was a casual response.

[me]

\- Same, nothing.

\- When does work end?

John took about two seconds to reply.

[John Laurens]

\- in like a few hours

\- but! if u wnt 2 come hang i wouldnt mind ;)

\- my next shift isnt for another 30min

That's when Alex had to set his phone down and realize that he may have just accidentally flirted. A grin spread on his face. _I guess I don't have anything better to do…_

[me]

\- Sure yeah! It's the hospital a block away, right?

[John Laurens]

\- ya!

\- an thank jesus ur coming 2 hang im bored af

\- breakroom on the 8th floor

 

* * *

 

Unfortunately, there were two break rooms on the 8th floor of the hospital.

And of course, Alex managed to learn this the hard way, walking into the wrong one only to see a blonde man with his head between the legs of a woman with dark hair.

_Why do I keep walking in on shit like this!?_ Alex had to wonder as he jumped back in surprise. "I'm so sorry!" he shouted, and fortunately for him, both only glared at him as he retreated from the room. "Really, _really_ sorry! My bad! Keep- uh- keep going at it, my dudes, I'm- you should lock the door!"

With bright red cheeks, Alex stormed through the floor to the directory, finding the second break room and pushing into it.

"Hey, I thought you weren't gonna come!" John grinned from across the room, cup of stale looking coffee in his hands. Alex was still shocked from the incident in the other break room and did nothing more than nod. Unfortunately, John took this as a bad sign, frowning. "You okay?"

"Yeah!" Alex managed, "You didn't tell me there were two break rooms."

It seemed to take John a moment to process what he meant by that, but when he did, he let out a half-snort. "Oh jeez, was Frederick going down on his buddy with benefits again? Those two literally don't have _any_ decency, I swear…"

"They looked like they were having a good time, at least," Alex tried to chuckle, but it came out sounding more like a cringe. "No, but- I actually- I wanted to ask you something. That like- isn't why I texted you, but I forgot to say something when you came by to use my shower, and I'm not that great at texting, and-"

"Alex, hey!" John cut him off, an amused smile on his face. _God he's so adorable,_ Alex could feel his heart melting. "It's cool, man, hit me up. What's going on? You need girl help? Boy help? Ooh, you wanna hook up or something?"

"No, no!" Alex yelped. Then he cursed himself at John's vaguely disappointed look. "I meant- no, like, that's not what I wanted to ask, I'd totally- I mean- hang on."

"Take your time," he said.

Alex took a deep breath, counting to ten before continuing. "You're gorgeous and I'd love to hook up with you absolutely any time, but that wasn't what I wanted to ask."

John's smile could light up a pitch black room. "I'll keep that in mind! What _did_ you wanna ask then?"

"The other night, when you- you yelled at me and stuff. What- what happened? Are you okay? I'm not asking 'cause I'm nosy or anything- I mean- I _am_ nosy, but I'm- and this is gonna sound really weird, but like. I'm sorta… worried about you?"

He couldn't ignore the way John's face darkened, eyes falling to the floor. "Look, I- I appreciate that you're worried, but… I'd really rather not talk about it, okay?"

Alex nodded, wishing he hadn't said anything. "Right, yeah, it's all cool. If you ever… _do_ want to talk about it? I'm a good listener, I guess, and-"

"You two finished fast, didn't ya?" John interrupted, walking past Alex toward the door. Spinning around, Alex saw that the two from the other break room were coming in, looking far too put together and beautiful. "Don't act all innocent, my buddy back there saw _everything._ "

"I don't think we've ever acted innocent in our lives, Laurens," the woman commented; she was honestly one of the most gorgeous women Alex had ever seen. And standing next to her, a solid foot taller, was a man whose face was _way_ too familiar for comfort.

"Did you leave any coffee, John, or did your inconsiderate ass take all of _that_ too?" he asked, shoving past Alex and toward the counter in the back of the room. _The voice is familiar too, what the fuck?_ "You actually left something this time! How wonderful of you!" the sarcasm might have to be mopped off the floor later.

"Yeah, I did. And that was _one_ time with the bagels, dude. _One time_ ," John shot back. "Are you totally ignoring that time I saved you a cookie!?"

"Awesome! Wow! You aren't a _complete_ asshat after all!" the man responded, smiling fakely. "Charlotte, cream?"

"One cream five sugars, thanks love," the woman - _Charlotte?_ \- said. "By the way, would your father be able to send a car for me to take me by Starbucks at around eight? I've got to testify in _court_."

"Of course! It would be a delight."

"Thank you dear." Then she turned her piercing gaze toward Alex, making him shrink back. "And hello. I don't believe we've _met._ "

Apparently, Alex paused for just a second too long, because John jumped in for him. "That's Alex Hamilton, he's my neighbor. Showed up to entertain. Alex, this is literally team rocket from Pokemon, I hate them both a lot."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, stepping in front of John with a hand held out to Alex. "Dr. Charlotte Mecklenburg. That's George."

All of a sudden, everything clicked. "George Frederick?" Alex asked, spinning around to face him. The man looked up from his coffee, a shocked expression on his face.

"Yes? That's me?" he said, stirrer frozen in his cup.

" _That's_ why you looked so familiar! Oh my _god!_ I'm so sorry, that probably sounded really weird. I'm Alexander Hamilton, I work for Professor Washington. You _just_ testified in one of our cases!" Alex exclaimed. The shock fell off of George's face, replaced with a neutral bitchy look.

"Right, I sat next to you on the first day of the trial," he agreed, "Laurens, you should keep this one around. You could get away with murder with a professional liar in training wrapped around your pinky finger. Really, you should've been there for the debacle in the courtroom, it was _astounding._ "

Charlotte snorted, taking her coffee into her hands. "Don't be too modest, love."

"All I'm saying is that Washington is an absolute _genius_ in his field," George said with a pointed look toward Alex, "You had to be impressed, even if you _do_ work with him. Tell me what a good show I put on. Go ahead. Feed my ego. Validate me."

Alex wasn't sure how to respond. "Your… your what?"

"My performance? Oh my goodness me, your dear daddy Washington-" John let out a snort when George said that, "-didn't tell you about what was _really_ going on? My my my. Well, I won't ruin the suspense, then. Lips sealed. You'll have to ask him yourself."

"No, no!" Alex said, taking a seat hurriedly across from the couple. "No, wait, tell me."

"Well if you insist." _That didn't take much to convince him._ "But you'll have to promise you'll keep your little mouth shut about it all. Otherwise my father will sue you _directly_ into your grave."

_That's a little… menacing._ But Alex nodded nonetheless. "Okay? Sure." He wasn't really sure what George was going to tell him; there were endless possibilities for what all of his dramatics had meant, but nothing could have prepared him for what actually came out of the man's mouth.

"Splendid! It was all faked."

Alex just stared at him for what felt like an eternity, mind both blank and racing at a million miles an hour at the same time. Then, "What?" He cleared his throat. "What was faked? The trial?" It jumped into his mind that it wouldn't be beyond Washington to set up a fake case just to figure out who his best students were, but…

"Ha, no, that one was real," George laughed, looking at Charlotte, who gave him an amused grin in response, "No. Everything else was faked. See, the situation was-"

 

* * *

 

"-Councilman Frederick was leaving his position at City Hall, right? But if he _left_ he wouldn't get any of his pay in the weeks following his departure. And he _loves_ money. If they _fired_ him, though, he would still get it. Following?"

Eliza blinked slowly at him, still looking confused. "You lost me. He's loaded. Why did he still need money?"

Rolling his eyes, Alex shifted his position on her bed. "He just… he wants it, okay? I don't know, that's what George- I mean- you know, yeah, that's what he said. And I mean- he's his son, so he should know."

"And where does Dr. Fra-" Eliza yawned half way through her sentence, eyes flitting over to the clock. _4:42 AM._ "Where does Dr. Franklin come into this?"

"I was just getting to that," Alex sighed, "You're ruining the story!"

"Sorry, right, go on. Follow me, though, I'm getting coffee. You want anything?" she asked, standing up and grabbing Alex by the wrist.

"Coffee would be nice. Anyway," the two started down the stairs of the enormous house, "Dr. Franklin was not only a heavy drinker, but also an obsessive inventor. You know, like the dude in Gremlins but even crazier. He's _really_ obsessed with electricity, used to be a scientist and stuff. But he was running low on money because his wife-"

Eliza handed him a coffee mug. "Knew the wife would come in somewhere."

"I know, right! The wife was an addicted gambler, and so the two decided- ooh, this is cute!" Alex paused, looking down at the dog on the side of his mug, and then took a sip and continued. "No, but Dr. Franklin and his wife found out about Councilman Frederick's situation at dinner, and they decided to like, conspire."

"Couch this way. So they conspired?"

"Yeah!" They sat down on the couch, Eliza waving her hand around.

"Wait wait wait-" Another yawn. "So when does Seabury show up?"

Alex glared, and Eliza couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "I am! Getting! There!" he groaned, "They talk about it for a little while and come up with a really wild plan, because Frederick _knew_ his son was dating Seabury - Benedict Arnold assaulting him was like… the _only_ part of the whole situation that _wasn't_ made up, and-"

"So he knew he was gay? But what about all the stuff in the courtroom-" Eliza cut herself off when Alex clasped his hands and stared at her, "Right. You're getting there."

"Seabury _did_ suffer from seizures for a few weeks following the attack, but they stopped before he left the hospital, and even though he wouldn't have been able to afford medication, he wasn't prescribed any. Didn't need it."

Eliza's brow furrowed, sipping her coffee. "But why did Frederick's son give him the carbamazepine if he didn't need it? We saw it on the security video. And don't even say it, I realized it as soon as I started saying it. You're getting there."

" _Yes._ So since George works at the hospital _and_ he's dating Seabury, his dad and the Franklins figured the whole plan could be set into action using _that._ And since Franklin knew Washington and knew he could deal with stuff like that, he faked his own attempted murder. It was all set up. Except for Robert Shurtleff and the video footage. That was a really bad slip up."

"Figured," Eliza nodded, "Robert was pretty shaken up by everything. He's a good friend of mine. But what about Dr. Laurens?"

"He was pretty much the only party that _wasn't_ involved, other than us and Shurtleff and the other people in court. Franklin and his wife get funds out of sympathy, Frederick gets fired from City Hall because of his 'homophobic outburst' and therefore gets his money, it's a win win situation."

"Still, why did Franklin do something so dangerous? He went into _real_ cardiac arrest, that's not something you can fake, Alex. That just doesn't add up."

"Betsy," Alex half-laughed, only stopping when Eliza gave him a glare, "Sorry. _Eliza._ The dude made himself a human conducting pole two years ago for an _experiment_. He's not adverse to taking life threatening risks."

Eliza seemed satisfied by that answer, and sat back on the couch. The two sat in silence for the next few minutes, sipping their coffee and listening to the beginnings of a thunderstorm outside.

Alex couldn't help the way his eyes wandered over Eliza's figure, barely lit by the lights from the kitchen. _Jeez o man, she's really gorgeous…_ he thought, head lolling to the side in wonder as he took another sip of coffee.

Especially at five in the morning when he was sleep deprived and running on adrenaline and the thought of death. In his foggy mind she was almost _glowing_ , dark hair pulled back into a sloppy bun, just enough strands fallen out to emphasize her square jaw. Her eyes, unfocused in the direction of the wall, looked like sleepy crystals. If that was even a thing.

_God_ , Alex groaned to himself, _my corny ass is thinking about her like she's a bad YA fiction character._

Still, it was all true. And just to add insult to injury, her angelic look was improved by her pale blue college hoodie and grey boxer shorts, both light in color and yet still contrasting against her skin. Her feet were bare, tucked under herself as she leaned against the armrest.

He wanted to tell her - in his haze of tiredness he thought that actually might be a good idea - about how pretty she was, how wonderful she was, how cool she was.

"Eliza," he began, and she looked at him with _that_ look, that Eliza look, the one that made his heart fall apart from day one of class, "You- you're- I'm-" _I'm totally speechless, apparently._

"Yeah?" Eliza asked, leaning toward him, "What's up?"

Alex hadn't realized it, but he was leaning forward too. "You look, um- you look really pretty. You're really pretty in general." They were close enough that he could smell her shampoo and feel her breath on his face. She was smiling too. _Fuck._

"That's nice," she said softly, and then their foreheads were touching and then their lips were touching and _god_ she tastes like strawberry lipgloss and hazelnut coffee.

And then they both realized what they were doing and pulled apart, eyes wide. "God, ew, that- no. That wasn't a thing I ever want to do again," Eliza said quickly, taking a long gulp of coffee, almost like she was trying to get Alex's taste out of her mouth.

Alex, despite how he had been admiring her previously, found himself equally disgusted with what had just happened. "Jeez, wow, yeah. Glad we got that one out of the way. There was like a second before that happened where I thought 'yeah I'd totally make out with her' but you know?"

"I'm not into it either."

"And we've only known each other for like a few weeks-"

"We're helpless horny kids," Eliza sighed, laughing as she fell back against the couch once again. "You want to watch Legally Blonde or something? It'd be kind of useless if you went home at this point."

"Legally Blonde sounds awesome. Can't wait for a trial on no sleep!"

 

* * *

 

Dr. Wales was at it again, rapid-fire questioning the witness with passion, and Eliza could _feel_ herself blushing. And of course, Alex was making obnoxious cooing noises at her every time she so much as _looked_ in the trial's direction, so she tried to keep her eyes trained on the floor in front of her.

_Why didn't we sleep last night!?_

And of course Alex had to bring up the fact that he talked to the witness just last night; after he caught her fucking someone's face in the break room of the hospital. _She's single, though,_ he'd told her. Eliza really didn't need to be thinking about that right now.

"You say Molly confided in you that Tom was abusing her?" Dr. Wales asked, resting a hand on her hip. Charlotte Mecklenburg, the witness in question, nodded.

"She did. Told me she was afraid for her life. I hate that man with all of the fire inside of me," she glared hard at Tom, hands still folded neatly on her lap. Dr. Wales turned around, red hair bouncing on her shoulders and floral dress swooshing around her legs like a waterfall.

"That's all. Thank you, Miss Mecklenburg. Your witness, George," she smiled. That gorgeous, _tantalizing_ smile. Eliza didn't even have to listen to know Alex said something about her panties hitting the floor.

"Charlotte. May I call you Charlotte?" Washington asked, pacing slowly up to the witness stand. She frowned.

"No."

Alex snorted. "She let _me_ call her Charlotte. I bet she'd let _you_ call her Charlotte," he winked and made a quiet moaning sound, "Ooh, Charlotte, yeah, just like that-"

"I'm gonna light your dick on fire," Eliza hissed back.

"So _Miss Mecklenburg._ You claim my client was abusing his wife, Molly-" Washington stopped briefly when she scoffed, and folded his hands behind his back, "You claim she was afraid for her life." A nod. "Right. And when do you claim this abuse started?"

"Two years ago," Charlotte said plainly, and the bored look she had on reminded Eliza too much of that one witness George Frederick.

"Two years ago, alright. And now, if you don't mind confirming for me, was that before or after you started the affair with Mrs. Conway? Hm?"

Gasps from the jury. Charlotte was spluttering on the stand, cheeks turning red. "How _dare you-_ "

"Objection!"

"Overruled."

Washington chuckled. "Because I'd reckon it was just afterward. Who would question someone going over to a married woman's house at odd hours for extended periods of time if that someone was a concerned best friend?"

"That is- I-"

"Oh shit," Alex whispered in amusement, and Eliza couldn't help but think of some outdated meme when she saw his face. "She been caughtity caught."

_Why the fuck didn't we sleep last night?_

" _Miss Mecklenburg_ ," Washington continued, "Did you or did you not write this in an email to your sister? ' _He's so good to her, he treats her so well, she'd never give up a life with him just because of our stupid affair. There aren't as many stars in the sky as there are in Molly's eyes when she looks at that man_ -"

Charlotte hissed. Actually _hissed_ at him. "You _shut up_ , STOP IT!" the last part came out in a scream, and the jury started murmuring again. Judge Ross slammed her mallet down.

"Order in my court!"

"Did you not write these words, Miss Mecklenburg?" Washington asked, that innocent, questioning tone in his voice. Eliza smiled to herself and bounced her leg up and down, holding out a fist to Alex.

"Bippidy boppity _busted._ "

Charlotte's jaw was clenched tight. "I- yes. I wrote that. But-"

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, does that sound like the words of a woman who knows her best friend's husband is abusing her, or the words of a jealous lover? Jealous enough to, perhaps, _kill_ the object of her affection? Classic mentality of 'if I can't have her no one can?'"

"Objection!"

"Withdrawn. Get your next witness up there, Martha, we don't have all day."

 

* * *

 

Court was called on recess until tomorrow after Washington secured Tom's alibi with the neighbor they blackmailed, which left the rest of the day for them to either go to class or go with the Professor to a coffee shop.

Unsurprisingly, Madison was the only one who elected to go to class, everyone else tailing after Washington like ducklings into what was called 'The Beans Knees'. Alex figured it was supposed to be a play on 'the _bees_ knees', but it just... really didn't sound right.

Upon entering, they were immediately greeted by a tall, lanky man wearing an apron with a cowboy hat printed on the front. He was walking out from behind the counter, waving a little too excitedly. And he reminded Alex of some actor.

"George!" he grinned, pulling the professor into a shockingly friendly hug. Even more shocking was the fact that Washington _returned_ the hug. "How's it going? How are you? Man, it's been _forever_ since y'all've been in here! How's Martha doing?" all of it came out in one breath.

Professor Washington was still smiling, though, clapping the man on the shoulder roughly. "Good, good, James, I take it you're doing well! Martha's just fine, lovely of you to ask," he responded, and the man, _James_ , gave him a smile that could light up an entire room.

"That's _excellent!_ And these must be your famous students! I've heard _so_ much about y'all, it's such a pleasure!" he said, turning to the group that had come to a stop behind Washington, "I'm James Reynolds, it's so nice to finally meet you!"

For a moment, the students stood in shock, just staring at him and watching him stare back, until Angelica cleared her throat. "Don't be dicks, guys. Introduce yourselves," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

"I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Eliza. Lizzy if we're friends," Eliza said, stepping forward to shake his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Reynolds."

James scoffed. "Please, just James. And my _my_ , the famous Elizabeth Schuyler. Ol' George's told me _so_ much about you. All good things, ain't no worries, ain't no worries. And lemme guess, you must be Mr. Alexander Hamilton!"

Alex's eyes went wide, and he instinctively looked behind him. _Wait, shit. I'm Alexander Hamilton._ Then he tried to laugh it off, nodding and extending his hand. "That's me, yeah."

"Aaron Burr, sir," Aaron cut in, also holding out his hand, but James was already taking up Lafayette's hand, kissing it on the knuckles.

"Je m'appelle Lafayette, c'est un plaisir," they smiled; no one could miss the blush spread across their cheeks as James looked up at them.

"You're that French one, then! George says _real_ good things 'bout you," he said. It only served to make Lafayette blush even harder. "I'll take it the fifth member of the Washington five ain't here right now. James Marriott, right?"

"Madison," Washington corrected, "And no, he chose to attend his class instead of joining us here."

James let out an 'awww' noise, but kept that dazzling smile on nonetheless. "Well that's a damn shame. What can ya' do, though? Now if y'all want drinks or our famous cranberry orange scones, lemme point you on over to my lovely coworker Ariana. And Angelica? I'm gonna need to talk to you in the back."

As the other students headed up to the counter to order coffee and food, Alex watched Angelica and Reynolds walk toward the storage room. She seemed reasonably relaxed, so Alex wasn't _too_ worried for her, but his heart spiked when he caught a last glimpse of James' smile turning from pleasant to outright _maniacal._

He wished he could say he went in there to help her.

 

* * *

 

"A hundred bucks a week is _way_ enough, Reynolds. I'm not going any higher," Angelica snapped, glaring daggers at the all-too-smug man standing across from her. He was _laughing._ Laughing at her! She wanted absolutely nothing more than to punch him straight in the face. Or in the balls.

Either one would be pretty satisfactory right now.

"That's just fine, hun. I'll go right out there and tell our dear George about you gettin' busy with his _wife._ I'm sure he ain't gonna mind," James smiled, leaning over her in a disgustingly condescending way.

Angelica couldn't help but feel her stomach twist in terror. But she kept a strong face on anyway. "Do it. I don't care. He won't be too happy to hear I've been _paying_ you to keep your mouth shut. He'll be too angry at you for keeping secrets from him to even _think_ about me and Martha."

"Well why don't we go put that theory to the test, hm?" James asked, making a move toward the door. Angelica instinctively jumped to stop him, cursing herself when he laughed. "Aw, lookie there. I knew you weren't gonna let me go out there. Add fifty or it's all over."

Hands clenched into fists, Angelica stood quietly for a long moment. It would be so much easier if James just let the truth go right now. Get all the pain over with quick. But then she thought about Washington, how heartbroken he would be.

"Fine," she snapped, digging into her purse and slamming seven twenties and a ten into his greedy hands.

"That's a good girl," James purred. Angelica resisted the urge to punch him once again.

 

* * *

 

_"Okay, your total is-"_

_"One moment, I am sorry, I forgot something," they interrupted, dashing back over to the shelf and grabbing up one of the black burner phones, "Here. I hope it is not too much trouble to add."_

_"No problem at all," the cashier smiled, ringing up the phone and putting it in the plastic bag with the other things, "Now your total is thirty two sixty two. Hope your friend's giving you some money for all this stuff. Seems like you're going through a lot of trouble for him."_

_Lafayette laughed, handing over the change and taking the bag, "It is no problem. It was my choice to help."_

_"Well have a good night, my dude. And stay warm. It's fuckin' freezing out there," it came with a small wave, and Lafayette smiled once again in return, spinning on their heel and heading out toward the door. "And hey!" They turned back around at the sound of the cashier's voice. "It's getting late, and... I dunno, you look tired, so if you want to take some coffee to go I won't charge you for it."_

_"Oh!" Lafayette said, trying to act surprised and grateful. But really they just wanted to get back out to the damn car. "That would be lovely! Thank you so much!"_

_"No problem!" the cashier smiled._

_They started pouring themself a cup of coffee and unwrapped the burner phone as they did so. Tossing the remains in the garbage can, they stirred some hazelnut flavored cream into the cup and dialed a number. "Hello? Yes. Just let me speak to her."_

_Glancing over their shoulder, they saw the cashier had started playing Candy Crush on a phone. They took a long gulp of their coffee. A different voice finally came onto the other line. "It's me. And this is a different phone, a burner phone, do not worry. I know. I know. Do not lecture me. I was calling to tell you everything will be okay. We are handling this. We will keep you safe."_


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy it's really heating up now!! this chapter is sadly less memey than the last one but oh well  
> also i love EVERYONE that left a comment u are the BEST

"Martha?"

Washington stripped off his suit jacket and let it drop to the floor, starting on his tie next. "Martha, baby, you home?" he tried again, and then he heard the shower running in the next room over. "Martha, you in the shower?"

" _Yeah, honey, I'll be out in a minute!_ " her voice called back, and Washington smiled to himself slightly.

The smile dropped, however, as he remembered the strange comment James Reynolds had made to him earlier in the day. _It was like he was implying that Martha cheated on me. But... she wouldn't do that._ He couldn't recall exactly what James had said, it was just a passing remark, but still. It was weighing on his mind.

Especially when he caught a glimpse of her phone sitting on the end of the bed on top of her pile of clothes.

Washington cursed himself immediately for the very thought of looking through her text messages. _You're just being paranoid,_ he tried to tell himself, _Martha would never cheat on you, you're taking whatever James said completely out of context._ And yet there he was, shirt unbuttoned down to the last three and reaching down to pick up her phone.

He shot a glance at the door into the bathroom; out in a minute. Martha usually took long showers, but... it wouldn't hurt to just... _check._ Make sure he really _was_ just being paranoid. And if she wasn't up to anything, she wouldn't even be mad if she came out to see him on her phone.

Just to be safe, Washington unlocked it quickly and looked back at the door. "Martha, sweetie, you almost done!?" he called again, "Bed's getting lonely without you!"

" _You keep pestering me and you're gonna be on a lonely couch tonight!_ " she responded. Her tone was joking, but Washington couldn't bring himself to laugh. " _Five more minutes, I swear!_ "

"Just checking, baby!"

She didn't say anything else, so Washington started to search through her text messages. Unsurprisingly, Martha didn't text very many people; mostly just himself, Thomas, Angelica...

" _You eaten yet?!_ " Martha's voice startled him so bad he almost dropped the phone. But she was still in the shower. _God, George, you're being ridiculous..._

"Not yet, I was gonna order Chinese!"

He started on the emails next. There were a lot more of these. Mostly students asking for paper extensions and things for class. _Just put the phone down, George._

" _Oh, honey, not from China Palace, they take forever to deliver!_ "

There were a strange amount of emails from Angelica. He wanted to believe it was just work related things, but the two usually texted. He opened up one and his brow furrowed.

" _And unless you're picking it up I want to get something else!_ "

"I can pick it up!"

None of the emails were work related. None of them. He clicked through them quickly, looking for anything suspicious, anything to give him the _slightest_ confirmation that he wasn't just being paranoid, but-

"George?"

He whipped around, hiding the phone in his hand as he put it on his hip. "Hey," he greeted. Martha was wearing a towel and a concerned look on her face.

"You okay?" she asked, and Washington smiled at her.

"I'm fine. Just some court stuff getting to me," he said. Martha nodded, understanding, but didn't leave the bathroom doorway. "You want me to go and pick up China Palace?"

"I was thinking Indian," Martha said, and then closed herself back in the bathroom to get dressed.

Washington closed out of the emails quickly and set the phone back on her pile of clothes. And then, sitting down and putting his head in his hands, he let out a long breath. He knew it was ridiculous to be suspicious of his own wife, he knew she and Angelica were probably just emailing as friends, but still...

He wasn't going to sleep easy that night.

 

* * *

 

Alex was jogging up the steps to his apartment when he passed a thoroughly worn out looking John Laurens. He didn't say hello, not when John looked so tired, but turned when he heard a small laugh come from right behind him. John was smiling halfheartedly up at him, leaning on the banister with his bag slung over his chest.

"Look at us, am I right? You comin' home from work, me on my way to work," he chuckled. Alex returned the smile.

"Ships in the night, I guess," that was the wrong thing to say, apparently, because John just gave him a confused and slightly judgmental look. Alex rushed to change the subject, "Hey, um- this might sound weird but I forgot to mention it last night, and I really want to say it, so I- I saw your friend, or- not friend? Don't know. Hercules Mulligan? I met him once. But- uh- I saw him on TV the other day, he was talking about Charles Lee."

John stared for a moment, bright smile from just a moment ago completely gone. "Yeah? And?"

"I- um. I don't know," Alex stammered, "I just- I wanted to say that I'm. I'm sorry. You know, if Hercules was your friend, then Lee might've been your friend too, and-"

"They weren't." John's eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be adapting a defensive stance. "Why all the questions, man? Why do you wanna know everything about my personal life? Are you a cop?"

"What?" Alex had to stop himself from laughing at such a weird question, "No! I was just- look, the point I was trying to get at is that the cops are questioning Hercules, and if Lee was your friend too then they might want to question you too, and you- you can't say anything to them unless you have a lawyer. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, dude, I know," John said, venom in his voice, "Look. I'm not stupid, and you're not a lawyer. And I'm gonna be late for my shift. Have a good night, pendejo."

As he jogged down the rest of the steps toward the door, Alex couldn't help but feel a little hurt. He glared down the steps and shouted, "I took Spanish in high school, you dick!" and then realized afterward that he probably looked and sounded like an upset five year old.

 

* * *

 

"A question for all of you. Can you trust your key witness on the stand?"

Washington was scribbling out some words on the board that everyone strained to see. He turned around to face the lecture hall with his hands behind his back. "That question is one of the biggest dilemmas for defense attorneys. If they act too positive, jury feels like it's being manipulated. If they're honest, well... you might as well just shoot your case right in the balls. But there's one thing we have that can make or break the performance of a key witness. Mr. Hamilton, would you like to tell me what that is?"

"Pretrial prep, sir," Alex answered, and in the back of his mind he couldn't stop thinking about how much preparation had to have gone into Seabury's case. "That's where you go over-"

"I didn't ask you to explain it, thank you," Washington cut him off, pacing back across the room. There were several snickers. "The challenge is always establishing your witness' credibility. They have to seem real, substantial. Sometimes even critical of your client. You're creating an entire persona up on that stand. In many ways, a defense attorney is like a film director. Mx. Lafayette, if you don't mind coming down to my chair here."

Lafayette, surprised, stood up and shimmied out of the row, taking a seat in the chair Washington had pulled out for them. The Professor turned back toward the students. "Lafayette here has been called to the stand because their mother was accused of murdering their father by way of stabbing."

"Actually, my mother did-"

"It's just role play, Lafayette, I know your mother didn't do anything like that," Washington interrupted, smiling. There were more snickers and laughs from the class. "Now, they're on the stand and we're going to cross examine them. Then we're going to learn strategies and cross examine them again. You'll see the differences. Now then," he started pacing in front of Lafayette, who still looked thoroughly confused, "Lafayette, how do we know that-"

A cell phone was ringing.

Washington looked out at the students with a glare so intimidating it could have literally brought an entire building down. Then he looked down at his own pocket and his cheeks seemed to heat up. "That's me. One moment. Yes?" he paused, listening to whatever the person was saying, and then he stiffened up, "Excuse me? What the _fuck?_ "

 

* * *

 

_"My daughter's got asthma, I understand. You kids drive safe, and you feel better," he said, pointing his flashlight to Madison, who smiled._

_"Thank you, officer," Eliza beamed, and he returned to his car, allowing her to drive back out onto the road, this time minding the speed limit. The smile fell off her face, returning to a scowl. "That was way too close."_

_"Well maybe if you didn't drive like a damn lunatic-"_

_"John shut up!" Mulligan groaned, "You're all SO fucking annoying, you know that!?"_

_Eliza turned the wheel sharply, driving them into the parking lot of a small motel just outside of the city. Everyone was staring in confusion. "This is the place, right Laf?" she asked. Lafayette nodded. "Right. I'll be right back."_

_"Is this where-" Alex started, but Eliza didn't answer him; she just slammed the car door and jogged toward the motel. "Right. Okay."_

_She climbed the steps to the second level and walked for a bit until she found room 104, knocking a familiar rhythm on the door and waiting. When no one answered, she tried again. A third time, she was starting to get nervous._

_But then the door opened and a small figure peeked out, face turning to relief when she saw it was Eliza. "Thank god, you're okay, Lafayette talked to me, but they-"_

_Eliza cut her off, pulling her into her arms and letting her bury her head in her shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay. We're taking care of it. You're gonna be fine," she whispered, "Look at me, sweetie." She lifted the smaller woman's chin so she could stare her in the eye. "We are going to protect you. Understand me, Maria?"_

_Maria Reynolds, eyes welling with tears, managed a nod and leaned up nervously to peck Eliza on the cheek. "Yeah."_

 

* * *

 

"Conway fired us," Washington said, leaning on his desk.

His five students were sitting in his living room, sandwiches from some fast food place in their hands and confused looks on their faces. Eliza spluttered a bit, but didn't say anything. Alex's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

"What!?" Aaron exclaimed, "I mean _seriously_ what!?"

"He didn't like the move we pulled in court the other day, thought it was disgusting that we would reveal an affair like that," Angelica answered as she took a bite of sandwich, "Dumped us publicly too, after he called Washington he went straight on TV to talk about what an awful lawyer he was. I think that dick's been waiting to talk shit on us from the moment we took his case."

" _Asshole!_ " Alex was standing up, hands clenched into fists, "What a- what the _fuck!?_ That's- he thinks he can just _do_ that!?"

Washington rubbed the bridge of his nose, already getting annoyed. "Alexander, it's really not bad. My name's been through a _lot_ , and I can take it. Good luck to him when his new shitty lawyer winds him up in prison."

Alex looked like he wanted to say more, but it was at that moment when Jefferson walked in, tapping away on his phone. "Hey, no offense, but it might kinda be good if we really did get kicked off Conway's case," he said, earning a glare from Alex and a strange look from everyone else.

"Why?" Washington asked, straightening.

Jefferson made his way over to the coffee table and turned on the television, flipping to the news channel. "That kid, Charles Lee's roommate. He's been taken into custody as a suspect."

" _What!?_ " this time it was Lafayette launching to their feet. "He had nothing to do with this! I _talked to him_ on the night Lee disappeared! Hercules would never hurt a fly, he is not like that, he would not-"

"Kid, calm down," Angelica cut in, "You know him?"

They stammered for a moment, clenching and unclenching their fists, and then nodded. "Oui. He... he is my friend. My best friend. I know him, I know he would not do this. Not to Charles."

"Well if we take his case you won't have to worry about anything," Washington smiled. "Jefferson. Call the station, would you? Ask if Mr. Mulligan needs a lawyer."

 

* * *

 

The door of The Beans Knees was slammed open so hard the glass vibrated.

It was just a few minutes until closing, so there was no one but the few staff members there, but all looked up in half-fear when they saw Maria Reynolds clicking across the room toward James.

The man turned toward her, smiling. "Hi honey, what's goin' on?" he asked, and then waved his coworkers off, "Y'all can go home, I'll clean up for the night."

Maria didn't respond. There was silence until they had grabbed their things and left, still nervously looking over their shoulders. And when they were finally out of sight, James' polite smile turned into a glare. "The fuck do you want?" he demanded. Maria crossed her arms and took a deep breath.

"We really need to talk," she said in a low voice. James scoffed, looping his thumbs through his belt. "James look at me. I talked to Professor Washington today."

"That s'posed to bother me?" he asked. Maria swallowed thickly. "What'd y'all talk about?"

She had to blink away tears. "He told me to pass on some information about _Charles Lee_ 's case," she told him, "Said you were interested."

"So? I am."

"He said you didn't know them," she continued, voice growing colder and shakier by the moment, "He _said._ You didn't know them. 'You'd met them once or twice', that's what he said. Why did you _lie_ to him, James?"

James laughed, that mocking, _stupid_ laugh that made it clear he thought he was better. Maria clenched her hands into fists.

" _Dammit_ James! Why did you lie!?" the volume was escalating.

"Oh like you ain't lyin' your ass off all the _time_ , whore, why's it such a big deal?" James asked, his voice _so_ condescending.

"Because it's _stupid_ , James! This isn't some tiny thing, you straight up told a _bald faced lie_  about a kid that just got  _murdered!_ You knew them! You've known them since _grade school!_ Why would you lie about that!?" she was yelling now. "You have a reason to lie about it, James!? What did you do, James!? _What did you do!?_ "

"Why do you want to know!?"

"Did you kill Charles!?" she screamed. It shut him up, for the first time ever. And the silence, _god_ the agonizing silence, it went on a little too long. "Oh my god, no. Jesus, just _answer me_ , James! Did you kill them!? _Did you kill them!?_ "

"No, I-" he pursed his lips, pointing a finger at her. But he didn't say anything else.

She laughed bitterly, blinking away tears. "What then? You got a little too rough with them during sex? That choking kink got a little too harsh? Don't give me that look, you _dick_ , I _know_ you were fucking them, I'm not stupid!" she was starting to back him into the counter, "You call _me_ a whore but I'm not the one screwing every new pretty face that shows up and orders a cappuccino-"

The blow sent her to the ground, head spinning and vision blurry. She tried to bring a hand up to touch her temple but James' foot connected with her side, landing her on her back. Then she was being grabbed by the shirt and dragged upward, face to face with her husband. "I didn't _sleep with him,_ I didn't _kill him_. I'd met him a couple of times when he came in to get coffee. That's _all._ I ain't lying and you know it."

Maria snarled at him. "Good eye contact."

 

* * *

 

_There was shouting from far away, and Eliza squeezed her eyes shut. It wasn't someone from the group. God, she thought they went out far enough, but-_

_Then the shouting got more distant, and then even more distant, and then it was gone. Just some kids on the freeway in a car. Passing by. She let out a breath._

_"Eliza."_

_She jumped, heart pounding, and almost started swinging punches. But then her eyes focused and she saw that the face staring down at her was Lafayette. "Laf?" she demanded in a hushed tone, "Do you think those kids on the road saw us, or were-"_

_"Too far away, do not worry," they whispered, and then pushed a small, cold metal object into her hand. Not saying anything else, they headed back to the group, leaving Eliza sitting in confusion._

_And then she unfolded her hand and had to stop herself from gasping._

 

* * *

 

" _Let me the fuck go, man! Get off me! I said get off!_ "

Alex had just walked in the entrance to his apartment building when he heard John Laurens screaming. He ran up the stairs as quickly as he possibly could, and watched in horror as John was handcuffed on the ground by a police officer, dragged to his feet by two others.

"Get _off!_ " he screamed again, shoved out his door past Alex; his nose was bleeding. He'd clearly been thrown on the floor. "Let me go! Fuck you!"

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you-" one of the officers was telling him, carrying the thrashing man down the steps by the arms. John continued screaming, and the officers continued reading him his rights, and Alex didn't know what to do other than just watch it happen. "You have the right to an attorney-"

" _LET ME GO!_ "

"John!" Alex finally shouted, leaning over the banister, "John don't say anything! Don't tell them anything, John! Just- just stay quiet! John!"

He looked up briefly, eyes wide. "Alex help!"

And then the door was slammed and the police cars were pulling away, leaving Alex half-hanging over the landing banister with a look of sheer panic on his face. He dashed into his apartment and googled the Charles Lee case immediately, refreshing the page until a new news video showed up. 

It was Abigail Adams, no surprise, speaking from the newsroom. " _The two suspects in the Charles Lee case, Hercules Mulligan and Rebecca Laurens, were arrested within hours of each other_."

Alex had to take a moment to realize who Abigail was talking about when she said Rebecca Laurens. And then he remembered what John had said the other day at the hospital about his dad not allowing him to legally change his name. His blood was boiling.

_"Ms. Laurens was a medical student in training at the hospital, working part time at a tattoo parlor, which is rumored to be a place Middleton students go to buy drugs. In fact, a recently discovered arrest record for Ms. Laurens shows a history of drug charges, including the sale of hard core narcotics, heroin, meth, and cocaine."_

He closed his computer, putting his head in his hands. John didn't seem like the type of person that would sell drugs, but then again, Alex really didn't know him that well. He'd never even been inside his apartment. 

_But John's been in mine._

All of a sudden he had a brief memory of seeing John shoving something into the cupboard under his sink when he came over to take a shower. Alex stood up and hurried over to the door, yanking open the cupboard and digging through stacks of toilet paper.  _Nothing. You're just being paranoid, Alex. Calm down._

But he jiggled one of the boards at the bottom, and bit the inside of his cheek when it came loose. Pulling it off, he found himself staring down at a phone that he'd never seen before.

The lock screen was a selfie of John, Hercules, and Charles Lee.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i feel like i've been straying a little too much from the actual htgawm plot so im trying to get back on track with that now. there's a little flashback scene in there just in case anyone gets confused  
> hope u enjoy!! please leave a comment it feeds my Soul!!  
> in other news WHO WATCHED THE SEASON 3 PREMIER IM NUTTING

_Madison was pacing back and forth in front of the stairs, trying to avoid looking at the body of James Reynolds that was lying on the floor. A pool of blood had formed around his head._

_Off to the side, Eliza was giving her jacket to Maria, who was shaking like a leaf. "Thanks," Maria whispered, and melted into the gentle hug she was given. "I'm so sorry."_

_"Shh, you're fine," Eliza whispered, and then looked up when she heard the door slamming._

_"Lafayette get up!" John shouted, gesturing wildly at Lafayette, who was curled into a ball against the bookshelf. "We need to get out of here, do you understand!? LAFAYETTE!"_

_"John, jesus, stop!" Mulligan yelled, shoving John backwards. "You're not helping!" He turned around and knelt to the ground in front of Lafayette. "Hey, baby girl, you hear me?" he began in a slightly shaking voice, "We need to leave now. Hey. Laf, look at me. We're gonna be okay. You get me? We're gonna be okay."_

_"We are NOT going to fucking be okay!" John screamed, and his fist connected with the wall, only causing him to scream more. But he whirled around anyway, pointing harshly at Reynolds' body. "You see that!? Y'all see that motherfucking dead body right there!? Because I feel like I'm the ONLY fucking one that cares about fucking going to JAIL! Stop wasting your time on them! Their perfect little innocent brain can't handle any of this!"_

_"Stop it!" Eliza snapped, glaring from her place next to Maria. "John just stop it! You're not helping anyone by being a dick!" Hercules gave her a nod of thanks, and then turned back to Lafayette._

_"Can you hear me? Laf, c'mon, man, don't do this right now. Can you hear me?" Hercules shook their shoulders a bit. "Lafayette?"_

 

* * *

 

_Two months earlier..._

An old radio was playing some really bad 90's music from the top of a dresser. Clothes and textbooks and papers and empty food containers were strewn across the floor, barely leaving a rug in view. Pushed against a wall was a bed with a flower shaped headboard. It was creaking loudly.

"Agh, yes, _fuck-_ " Dolley groaned as James kissed her inner thighs, back arching and hands tangling in the sheets. "Jesus, James, _oh!_ " her hips bucked upward with ridiculous force and he looked up briefly with a raised eyebrow, a look that said, ' _did you almost just break my nose with your pussy?_ '

Then he delved back in, arms looped around her thighs to hold himself steady. " _God,_ James, you're so- _ugh-_ " she moaned, hips rocking up again, " _AH!_ "

Not too much later, the two were lying in bed together, cuddling and listening to what sounded like a Macarena remix. Dolley nuzzled her head into James' shoulder, taking in the scent of cinnamon and something alike to gatorade. "You should quit your job," she murmured, smiling softly, "Move to Seattle. You could be my trophy wife. I'm in desperate need of one."

James laughed, kissing her on the forehead. "Sounds like a great idea. Do I get a purse dog to carry with me at fancy parties?" he asked, and Dolley laughed louder.

"I thought you were allergic to dogs."

"Yeah, but think of the aesthetic." Both of them laughed together, and James began playing with several strands of Dolley's short dark hair. " _Or,_ you could move out here. You get a job at a nice good law firm, I keep going to school. I'd have a lot of time on my hands. I could cook us dinner." He kissed her on the nose.

Dolley smiled up at him, closing her eyes and cuddling closer before whispering, "James you've never cooked anything in your life."

He smiled, rolling his eyes. "Fine. I'll learn how to cook us dinner. And I can take care of the kids."

" _Kid,_ James, one. I'm not pushing more than one eight pound flesh lump out of my vagina," Dolley shot back, making James laugh again. "And the _nanny_ will take care of the kid," she said, giving him a gentle kiss, "And the _chef_ will cook us dinner," another kiss, "And the two of us will take over the world."

She was rolling on top of him, seeming to be ready for round two, and then they both heard a cell phone buzzing, signaling a text message. James nearly knocked her off the bed trying to get to it. "Sorry! Sorry," he shouted, looking at his phone and letting out an exasperated sigh.

Dolley sat up, lips pursed. "What is it?"

"Ugh, I have to get to the office," he sighed, tossing the sheets off and searching the floor for some clean clothes, "We're picking up a new client at the jail."

"Hey, whoa, I just got here!" Dolley complained, crawling to the end of the bed and giving him a vague glare, "C'mon, James, is it really that important? We never see each other!"

"Professor Washington really doesn't care."

"Fine, at least let me walk you to the firm," she said, and James shot her an amused look as he pulled on a grey collared shirt.

"Seriously? Am I ten years old or something?" he laughed, but Dolley's face had actually gone serious. "What?"

"You watch the news, don't you? Look, all that stuff going on with the Charles Lee case..." she trailed off, sighing, "Students are getting murdered out there."

James just chuckled and shut the bathroom door.

 

* * *

 

Alex's heart was pounding - honestly, there was no surprise at all there - as he climbed the steps of the local precinct. The bright lights and cold air and stern looks from every officer he encountered only served to heighten his anxiety levels, but he swallowed and forged ahead anyway.

The front page of a newspaper left out on a table caught his eye, and he had to look away. _That's all anyone's been talking about recently..._ Plastered in black and white were the mugshots of Hercules Mulligan and John Laurens, headline stating 'two in custody for homicide.'

Squaring his shoulders and walking on, Alex stared intently at the directory until he found the window he was looking for. The woman in the booth looked utterly bored out of her mind. "Hi," Alex said, clearing his throat when she didn't look up, "I'm looking for information on someone you have in custody, um- John Laurens?" The woman gave him a raised eyebrow. "R- Rebecca Laurens. Sorry. I- the not Hercules Mulligan one in the Charles Lee ca-"

"You press?" she asked in a monotone voice, looking up at Alex through a pair of horn rimmed glasses. Alex let his mouth hang open for a moment.

"Um- sorry?"

"You press or you a lawyer?" she repeated, this time more firmly, "You're with the press, fuck outta my window. If you're a lawyer I'm gonna need some ID."

Before Alex could answer either, he was bumped to the side by an older looking man who presented ID and signed in on a piece of paper, walking through the doors to the back rooms with ease.

As he left, Alex pursed his lips, waving a small goodbye to the woman at the desk. He turned and started off down the hall, formulating a plan in his head. Probably something to do with a fake ID.

But as he was about to get to the stairs, he heard the buzzing of the back doors being opened again, and from the corner of his eye, he noticed a green letterman jacket walking toward him. _Hercules Mulligan._

Alex ducked behind a pillar and peeked around the edge, watching Mulligan approach the stairs with his lawyer. They were whispering indistinctly, and as much as he wished he could hear what they were saying, he couldn't.

He wondered if it was bad that he felt so suspicious.

 

* * *

 

"Listen, George, the female suspect we don't know much about, and we care just about as much as we know. She's not our concern. You understand where we're coming from on this."

Washington shifted his weight onto his other foot, keeping his usual stoic look on his face. "I presume you're referring to John Laurens, formerly Rebecca, though his changed name is something the press chooses to ignore?"

Dean Von Steuban looked appalled at himself, gently placing a hand over his mouth and shaking his head. "Oh dear, oh god, I'm so sorry. Yes, John Laurens, the other suspect. He is not who we are concerned about."

"Carry on, Frederich," Washington said, nodding at Von Steuban to continue.

"Right, well, I think I can speak for everyone in this office when I say we are standing behind Hercules Mulligan," he said. There were many nods and murmurs of agreement from the few other administrators in the room, save for a loud scoff from Doctor Jackson. "Is there a problem, Andrew?" Von Steuban asked, tilting his head.

Jackson rolled his eyes, pulling his pants up by the belt buckle. "Listen, I just think-"

"Jackson, no one in this room wants to hear whatever racist bullshit is about to come out of your mouth," Washington snapped, cutting him off. "Fredrich, would you excuse this ass please?"

Von Steuban waved his hand at Jackson to dismiss him from the room, waiting until the door was fully closed to continue. "As I was saying before, we all stand behind Hercules Mulligan and we believe in his innocence."

"Lucky for us, he posted bail this morning," it was the coach of the football team, James Armistead, who spoke up this time, "They released him. He's a good kid, George. Lives a real clean life."

"You all sound very biased here, Frederich," Washington began, "You do know-"

"Middleton can't officially take a position in his trial, I know," Von Steuban finished for him.

Washington just shifted his weight again. "Not what I was going to say, but close. It would look bad to take a position in his trial since Charles Lee's family has donated over eight million to the university in the last year alone. But then..." he trailed his gaze over to Armistead, "Having Middleton's star quarterback convicted of a murder isn't exactly going to boost the sports program."

There was an awkward silence in the room while everyone tried to figure out a way to get back on the same page. Finally, Von Steuban cleared his throat.

"George, you and Martha have been excellent assets to us here, you're paid well, you're given free reign of how you want to run your classes with _very_ little supervision-"

"My students are my results, Frederich."

"Right. I know. The point stands," Von Steuban said, leaning forward to fold his hands on his desk, "We haven't asked you for much."

Washington stared him down. "You're asking now."

Von Steuban looked exasperated, sighing, "George, I'm asking as a friend. Please. We _need_ you to represent Mr. Mulligan in this trial."

Gaze drifted from Von Steuban to Armistead to the silhouette of Andrew Jackson peeking in through the curtained window, and then Washington grabbed up his coat.

"I'll consider it."

 

* * *

 

Maria was bouncing nervously, hands picking at the edges of her red coat as she stood outside Washington's stained glass front door.

She'd already rung the doorbell twice, knocking another time just for extra measure, and what was probably only a minute felt like an agonizing hour. She was considering straight up leaving when finally the face of Angelica Schuyler appeared.

It took a moment for the woman to recognize Maria, blinking in confusion and then squinting. But when she did, she opened the door wider. "Mrs. Reynolds, hi. Professor Washington is at a meeting with Dean Von Steuban, but if you want to leave a message with me, I can-"

"Actually," Maria cringed as she cut off Angelica, noticing the look of irritation on her face, "I was looking for, um, Mr. Jefferson. Is he, um... is he here?"

Angelica stared at her for a long moment, and then stepped aside to allow Maria into the house. "He's in the basement sorting through old files. Might be on the phone." And with that, Angelica disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving behind the vague scent of rose perfume.

Swallowing, Maria started toward the basement door. She could hear Jefferson talking, so she assumed Angelica was right about him being on the phone. As she descended the steps, the conversation started becoming clearer, and by the way he was talking, Maria was almost certain the person on the other line was Washington.

"...and you'd _consider it?_ George, you literally wanted to take that case the second it came out, what the hell are you talking about _considering it?_ "

Maria waited at the foot of the staircase as Jefferson continued his side of the conversation, flipping through files the whole time. After nearly a whole five minutes of him talking and not noticing she was there, he finally hung up the phone and she cleared her throat.

"What up Angie? Done nutting to that soccer mom case? Cause I could use some h-" by the time Jefferson saw Maria, he'd already been talking too much. His face turned red and his posture got immediately stiffer, almost dropping the file he'd been holding. "You're- hi. Sorry. How- um. How long have you been standing there?"

"Just like a second, it's okay," Maria lied, giving him her winning smile. Unfortunately, it did nothing to relax him. So she just took a deep breath and got straight to business. "Listen, I don't want to waste your time. I'm just gonna get right to it. My husband is cheating on me."

Jefferson looked like he was about to melt back into the wall. "I'm um- I know Angelica- Ms. Schuyler- she- she might say a lot of stuff about me sleeping around with students, but I'm- I ah-"

"Oh, Jesus, no!" Maria shouted, a disgusted tone in her voice, "I don't want to _sleep_ with you, _god_ , I wouldn't be wearing a fucking Garfield sweatshirt if I was trying to sleep with you!"

A pause of silence, and then Jefferson started laughing, looking slightly more relaxed than he had before. "Right, oh god, I'm so sorry. That was really rude of me, I just- a lot of people think I have a lot of sex, but-"

"No it's fine, I've got a lot of slut rumors going around about me too. I ah... I feel you on that one," Maria said, bouncing awkwardly on her feet once again. "But... okay, sorry. Back to the point."

"Point, yes. Your- your husband," Jefferson agreed.

"Right. My husband James Reynolds is a complete bastard," Maria told him, earning a nod.

"I don't even know him and I already hate him."

She had to chuckle. "He's cheating on me left and right, beats the shit out of me, lies to my face, and on top of all that, he's being suspicious as all hell on the topic of... of the Charles Lee case. He won't answer my questions straight, keeps lying and coming up with excuses- I really... I don't know what to do."

"And that's my problem how?" Jefferson asked.

Maria took a deep breath, and then pulled out several printed pieces of paper. "James went out of town the weekend Lee went missing. It was a thing for school, he's working on his doctorate."

"Getting a PhD in being a douche?" he said, looking down at the papers Maria was handing to him. They had gotten much closer in the past few seconds, now standing shoulder to shoulder. "Okay, I'm seeing it. What do you want me to do? What makes you think I _can_ do anything? I can't go all Jason Bourne or whatever and spy on your husband. Most I can do is look in some records."

"Look. James said he went to give a lecture for a freshman class at Ohio State. He was 'out of town' within the time frame of the Lee murder, and with all the _fucking_ lying he's doing, I'm really getting scared that he hurt them somehow," Maria said, looking up at Jefferson. "I want you to let me know that he's not lying about this one damn thing, that he was in Ohio when Charles went missing and I can sleep easy knowing that my bastard husband isn't a bastard murderer."

 

* * *

 

_"I'm just having a bad night. Please."_

_John was laughing, not in a friendly way. In a mocking way. "Seriously? What happened? Your building run out of Fiji water?"_

_"Honestly fuck you! I didn't come here to get picked on!"_

_"Picked on? You sound like you're twelve," John snapped, arms crossed over his chest. There was a fight going on just an alley over; they could hear the shouting. "I'll give you a discount if your preppy little ass tells me what happened."_

_"You're not my therapist, asshole."_

_"You suck a bad dick?"_

_"That's disgusting!"_

_John scoffed. "Don't act like you're above it, man. Everybody sucks dick. It's just something you do. Okay, so not a bad dick. You get fired or something? No, don't tell me. You got shot in the side in a revolutionary war era style duel and then got stripped of your status as a General of the Continental army."_

_There was a long pause, and then, "What the honest fuck."_

_"Look, I didn't start out as a colonial history major for shits and giggles, man. At least give me your name."_

_"Why would you want my name?"_

_John just shrugged, sticking his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "In case I ever sell to you again? I don't know. You work like two shifts before me at the bar, I see you around sometimes, I just never see what your name is on the schedule. Maybe we could work together or something some time. I make a mean buttery nipple."_

_"That's disgusting. And... I'm. I'm Charles. Charles Lee."_

 

* * *

 

Dolley was pinning James against the outside wall of the house when Washington and his ducklings walked out.

"Ah! Hey, um, Professor Washington," James said hurriedly, straightening out his clothes and putting an arm around Dolley, "This is my fiancee, Dolley Payne. She runs her own firm in Seattle."

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Washington," Dolley said, extending a hand, "James speaks _very_ highly of you."

Washington took up Dolley's hand without a word and shook it briefly, glaring in James' direction. "Don't be late again please, Mr. Madison," he said plainly, and then headed toward his car with Jefferson and Angelica in tow.

"Wow, he's... inspiring," Dolley commented. James just sighed, gesturing to his classmates. "Hi. Dolley."

"Hello miss Dolley," Aaron grinned as he pulled her into a bro-esque hug, slapping her on the back twice. When he pulled away, he had a funny look on his face. "Might I just say that your perfume is _very_ expensive smelling."

"That's Aaron," James sighed, watching the rest of the class file out of the house, each shaking Dolley's hand and greeting her briefly. "And that's Alex, that's Lafayette, that's Eli-"

"Dolley fuckin' Payne!?"

"Lizzy bizzy, holy shit what is _up!?_ "

All of a sudden, Dolley and Eliza were hugging each other aggressively, almost more aggressively than Aaron had hugged her, slapping each other's backs and bouncing up and down.

When they had pulled apart, James gave them both a surprised look. "You two, um. You know each other."

"New York boarding school, all of high school," Eliza said, grinning in Dolley's direction. Then she leaned into James' ear, voice lowering, "Looks like you and I have a lot more in common than I thought."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in other news, eliza has given dolley seven consecutive orgasms


End file.
